House Committee holds hearing on sage-grouse plans

On Oct. 25, the House Committee on Natural Resources held an Oversight Hearing on Empowering States in Sage-Grouse Management. This hearing was held in response to the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to reopen federal land use plans used to conserve the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). Four witnesses spoke at the hearing: Scott Bedke, the Speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives; Darin Bird, the Deputy Director for the Utah Division of Natural Resources; J.J. Goicoechea, the Chairman of Eureka County Commissioners; and John Tubbs, the Director of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. The witnesses focused on the threat of wildfires to sage-grouse habitat and the need to balance federal and state management on the issue.

Watch the hearing at the House Committee on Natural Resources website.