U.S. Forest Service plans to prepare environmental impact statement on greater sage-grouse management plans.

Jacqui Fatka, Policy editor

November 21, 2017

2 Min Read
Steps taken to correct sage-grouse land management plans
The greater sage grouse thrives in the sagebrush landscape of the West.U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service photo. (Public domain.)

Land management plans for national forests in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming were amended in September 2015 to incorporate conservation measures to support the continued existence of the greater sage-grouse. New issues have been identified since 2015, leading the Forest Service to work cooperatively with the Bureau of Land Management to address these issues.

The Forest Service seeks comment on certain parts of the 2015 sage-grouse plans that were identified preliminarily but also seeks input on other related issues. The specific topics already identified for consideration include: Sagebrush Focal Area (SFA) designations, mitigation standards, disturbance and density caps, modification of habitat boundaries to reflect new information, variance of management approaches within Priority Habitat Management Areas and General Habitat Management Areas, causal factors, adaptive management, the land use exemption process and grazing guidelines.

In addition to requesting comment on the topics identified in this notice, the Forest Service is requesting input on whether -- if it undertakes plan amendments -- the planning effort should occur on a regional, state-by-state or forest-by-forest basis. The Forest Service said it particularly looks forward to receiving comments from the governors of each affected state.

Related:Interior Secretary Zinke to re-evaluate sage-grouse agreements

On March 31, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada held that the Forest Service had violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to provide the public with enough information to meaningfully participate in the environmental impact statement (EIS) process in the Nevada & Northeastern California Greater Sage-grouse Land Management Plan amendment in Nevada.

Specifically, the agencies designated SFAs between the draft EIS and final EIS. The court remanded the records of decision to the agencies to prepare a supplemental EIS (Western Exploration LLC vs. U.S. Dept. of Interior, 250 F.Supp.3d 718, 750-751). Similar claims were raised in other pending lawsuits.

Ethan Lane, executive director of the Public Lands Council (PLC) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assn. (NCBA) federal lands, said the announcement represents an important step towards correcting the flawed 2015 land use plan amendments for the greater sage-grouse.

“We are glad that the Forest Service has joined the Bureau of Land Management in recognizing that additional consideration and public comment are sorely needed before any further action is taken,” Lane said. “Emerging science has shown that -- as written -- the flawed amendments will inappropriately target proper grazing due to poorly structured habitat objectives requirements found throughout the plans. PLC and NCBA look forward to working with the Department of Interior to correct the 2015 land use plan amendments, which failed to incorporate local knowledge and expertise in the management of sage-grouse habitat."

About the Author(s)

Jacqui Fatka

Policy editor, Farm Futures

Jacqui Fatka grew up on a diversified livestock and grain farm in southwest Iowa and graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications, with a minor in agriculture education, in 2003. She’s been writing for agricultural audiences ever since. In college, she interned with Wallaces Farmer and cultivated her love of ag policy during an internship with the Iowa Pork Producers Association, working in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Capitol Hill press office. In 2003, she started full time for Farm Progress companies’ state and regional publications as the e-content editor, and became Farm Futures’ policy editor in 2004. A few years later, she began covering grain and biofuels markets for the weekly newspaper Feedstuffs. As the current policy editor for Farm Progress, she covers the ongoing developments in ag policy, trade, regulations and court rulings. Fatka also serves as the interim executive secretary-treasurer for the North American Agricultural Journalists. She lives on a small acreage in central Ohio with her husband and three children.

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