Interior Department Will Restructure Greater Sage Grouse Management

The Trump administration plans to overhaul habitat-management plans to preserve the greater sage grouse in 10 Western states, including Colorado and Utah. The New York Times reports the Interior Department will publish a notice of intent to amend 98 plans adopted in 2015 after extensive negotiations among different stakeholders. Environmental groups decried the announcement. In a release, Chris Saeger of the Western Values Project said the actions threaten not only sagebrush landscapes but communities whose economies depend on more than energy extraction. But Kathleen Sgamma of the Western Energy Alliance praised the planned overhaul, saying the collaboratively-developed plans deterred economic growth.