Forest Service revisits sage-grouse plans

On Nov. 21 the U.S. Forest Service published a notice soliciting comments on its plan to revisit and possibly amend land management plans in regards to the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophansianus) and announcing its plan to prepare an environmental impact statement. This comes after an October announcement by the BLM of its plans to amend the 2015 land use plans put in place to conserve sage-grouse habitat. The 2015 federal conservation plans now under review were used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine that the grouse did not warrant federal listing as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Comments can be submitted until Jan. 5, 2018 to comments-intermtn-regional-office@fs.fed.us.