Calls on special interest groups to stop interference

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyo., has called on the Federal Courts to respect the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) interim management strategy regarding the sage grouse.

The BLM today released an interim approach to managing and protecting the sage grouse in the Powder River Basin.  The strategy supports Wyoming’s efforts to enforce its Sage Grouse management plan.

“With this BLM plan in place, Wyoming has once again demonstrated that we are committed to protecting the sage grouse.  Its listing under the Endangered Species Act is simply not warranted,” Barrasso said.

Barrasso commended the efforts of the BLM and the people of Wyoming in developing the strategy.  In doing so, he called on outside groups not to interfere.

“The BLM decision includes protections for the grouse developed by experts in Wyoming.  As a matter of principal, Washington lawyers and special interest groups in San Francisco and New York should now respect our stewardship of the state and respect the people of Wyoming,” Barrasso said.

“The State of Wyoming has worked for years to protect the bird and its habitat.  It is now time for all parties to move on and let the new state restrictions be recognized by the federal courts.”

Background

In December 2007, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must reconsider its decision to not list the greater sage grouse.  Part of the judge’s rationale was that neither Wyoming nor the BLM had any conservation measures to protect the bird of its habitat.  However, the BLM does impose protections on Application for Permits to Drill issued in the Powder River Basin.