Political compromise likely dooms Gunnison sage-grouse

Another endangered species with a population of fewer than 5000 individuals and threatened by the sixth mass extinction is likely doomed if the US Bureau of Land Management is unable to find a solution among the eleven land use plans under consideration.

6 February, 2024 is the tentative end date for public comments on the future of Centrocercus minimus.

Gunnison sage-grouse are a federally protected species distinct from the greater sage-grouse, and only inhabit portions of Colorado and Utah. The draft details five alternative management approaches for addressing the habitat and conservation needs of the species, in balance with the many other resources and activities the BLM manages for, including recreation, livestock grazing, lands and realty, wildland and prescribed fire, and energy and minerals. [BLM seeks public input for plan supporting Gunnison sage-grouse recovery]

Some 58% of grazing permits on federal land in critical habitat go without review; but it's not just cattle threatening the leks where the bird mates. In Nevada free-roaming horses even chase away bull elk when water supplies are scarce. 

On the Western Slope development and habitat fragmentation are behind decreasing sage-grouse numbers.

As part of efforts to conserve the bird, the BLM recently released an updated draft Resource Management Plan amendment and environmental impact statement to incorporate habitat protections and management decisions as identified in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2020 Final Recovery Plan. That plan defined occupied habitat (where Gunnison sage-grouse breeding occurs, or is known to have occurred), and unoccupied habitat (areas formerly occupied by the species that still have appropriate habitat features to support the bird). Specifically, conservation measures would include a 1-mile buffer around habitat that could extend to connectivity areas as appropriate, based on science and expert input. [‘Dead birds walking’: BLM sage-grouse plan draws skepticism, concerns]

Putting the country on the path of protecting at least 30 percent of its land and 30 percent of its ocean areas by 2030 (30x30) is imperative to preserving public lands. But if states are scrambling to preserve habitat for bison, wapiti, bighorn sheep, pronghorns, deer, Gunnison sage-grouse and all the other wildlife at risk to the Republican Party how are pastures for feral horses and burros on public land either conservative or sustainable?

The @BLMNational proposed plan to protect #endangered Gunnison sage-grouse, unfortunately, falls short. #ESA50

🚫 Grazing, power lines, roads, larger recreation area facilities and oil and gas infrastructure should NOT be allowed in sage-grouse habitat.https://t.co/FN1d1RSlGm

— WildEarth Guardians (@wildearthguard) November 22, 2023

From the field—Gunnison sage-grouse populations in South Colorado are in decline due to impacts from anthropogenic land uses and predation. Our scientists conducted vegetation surveys and collected data on predator ecology to help BLM and USFWS make management decisions. pic.twitter.com/4l3XDHd4ya

— Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (@TAMU_NRI) September 18, 2023