To: U.S. Forest Service
Help us reach 30,000 comments: Tell the Trump Administration not to strip protections for endange...
To whom it may concern,
The Trump Administration has proposed a new federal sage-grouse conservation plan. This plan is far weaker than the previous plan, which was put in place after consultation with stakeholders including western governors, scientists, and conservationists.
The previous plan was already inadequate to protect the sage-grouse and it should definitely not be weakened.
The announced plan revisions threaten to undermine protections for sage-grouse on millions of acres of public lands. Weakening protections could have significant consequences for sage-grouse and other wildlife, sagebrush grasslands and the western communities and economies that depend on them.
Rather than weaken the federal plans, the Trump administration should consider ways to improve them. Scientists have identified gaps and deficiencies in the current conservation strategy -- and have recommended measures to strengthen conservation and management of the species:
1. Conserve all of the most important sage-grouse habitats. For example, winter habitat is particularly important to sage-grouse, mule deer, and other wildlife, but the current federal plans fail to protect those areas from harmful land use and development.
2. Connect sage-grouse habitats. The federal government developed fifteen plans covering the sage-grouse's eleven-state range, but failed to stitch them together into a matrix that can provide for the species across federal jurisdictions and state boundaries.
3. Protect sagebrush reserves. It is important, particularly in light of climate change, that land managers set aside areas both where sage-grouse are now and where they will need to go in the future; the current conservation plans fail to provide that direction.
4. Reduce manageable impacts in sage-grouse habitat. Some threats to sage-grouse are difficult to manage, such as wildfire and invasive species. The federal conservation strategy should compensate for those impacts by emphasizing management of land uses that we can control, such as livestock grazing, which contributes to unnatural fire and the spread of invasive species.
5. Restore degraded sage-grouse habitat. Sage-grouse have already lost nearly half their range to agriculture and development. The federal sage-grouse conservation strategy should be updated to support active restoration of areas that can still be used by sage-grouse and other wildlife.
I urge you to make the rule more restrictive to be more protective of the sage-grouse.
Thank you,
The Trump Administration has proposed a new federal sage-grouse conservation plan. This plan is far weaker than the previous plan, which was put in place after consultation with stakeholders including western governors, scientists, and conservationists.
The previous plan was already inadequate to protect the sage-grouse and it should definitely not be weakened.
The announced plan revisions threaten to undermine protections for sage-grouse on millions of acres of public lands. Weakening protections could have significant consequences for sage-grouse and other wildlife, sagebrush grasslands and the western communities and economies that depend on them.
Rather than weaken the federal plans, the Trump administration should consider ways to improve them. Scientists have identified gaps and deficiencies in the current conservation strategy -- and have recommended measures to strengthen conservation and management of the species:
1. Conserve all of the most important sage-grouse habitats. For example, winter habitat is particularly important to sage-grouse, mule deer, and other wildlife, but the current federal plans fail to protect those areas from harmful land use and development.
2. Connect sage-grouse habitats. The federal government developed fifteen plans covering the sage-grouse's eleven-state range, but failed to stitch them together into a matrix that can provide for the species across federal jurisdictions and state boundaries.
3. Protect sagebrush reserves. It is important, particularly in light of climate change, that land managers set aside areas both where sage-grouse are now and where they will need to go in the future; the current conservation plans fail to provide that direction.
4. Reduce manageable impacts in sage-grouse habitat. Some threats to sage-grouse are difficult to manage, such as wildfire and invasive species. The federal conservation strategy should compensate for those impacts by emphasizing management of land uses that we can control, such as livestock grazing, which contributes to unnatural fire and the spread of invasive species.
5. Restore degraded sage-grouse habitat. Sage-grouse have already lost nearly half their range to agriculture and development. The federal sage-grouse conservation strategy should be updated to support active restoration of areas that can still be used by sage-grouse and other wildlife.
I urge you to make the rule more restrictive to be more protective of the sage-grouse.
Thank you,
Why is this important?
The Trump Administration wants to sacrifice an imperiled species in order to let Big Oil drill on our public lands.
We cannot allow the sage grouse to be sacrificed for Big Oil's profits. We need to demand that the Administration protects the sage grouse and other treasures of biodiversity, and not corporate profits!
We cannot allow the sage grouse to be sacrificed for Big Oil's profits. We need to demand that the Administration protects the sage grouse and other treasures of biodiversity, and not corporate profits!