Energy development in the West puts the iconic bird at ‘tremendous risk,’ conservationists argue.
By Kathy Love March 1 at 7:04 PM Leasing rights on western lands with some of the world’s highest densities of sage grouse were sold this week to energy developers for as little as $2 an acre — the result of a recent Trump administration directive to roll back Obama-era protections for the iconic bird.
But conservationists sharply disagree. Brian Rutledge, vice president of the National Audubon Society, contends the birds are at “tremendous risk” because of the leases. “I can tell you with certainty that the Wyoming parcels auctioned this week were the most important habitat of all,” he said. Rutledge and Dan Heilig of the Wyoming Outdoor Council had appealed to Gov. Mark Gordon to halt the sale. The 31 parcels “represent a tiny fraction of the total numbers being offered . . . yet contain the most important sage grouse habitat in the state,” they wrote in a letter last week.
Western Energy Alliance, the industry association for energy exploration and extraction, did not respond to a request for comment. Rutledge, who also serves as director of Audubon’s Sagebrush Ecosystem Initiative, became involved in conservation plans to safeguard the birds’ habitat 14 years ago, when it was clear their populations were plummeting. The work was done in conjunction with state conservation agencies, the BLM — which controls a majority of that habitat — and a consortium of ranchers and other private landowners across nearly a dozen states.
“A single well is not a huge impact on a lek if it is sufficient distance away,” Christiansen said. “But several wells may be allowed because the restrictions call for an average over a large area.”
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