The plight of greater sage grouse across the West is troubling, scientists say. Greater sage grouse populations declined nearly 80% between 1966 and 2021 and 41% from 2002-2021, according to federal scientists’ reports in the ongoing federal environmental review of grouse management.
The BLM’s problem is due in part to a loophole in its landscape rules, conservationists say. Rules allow the agency to renew 10-year grazing permits without assessing range health, according to PEER and Western Watersheds.
Congress allowed allotments to be renewed without review as a short-term fix, the conservationists say. But the practice is now institutionalized, with many allotments being renewed for three decades without oversight.