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Oregon Sage-Grouse Plan Up for Comment

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Monday, November 25, 2013   

EUGENE, Ore. - Cattlemen and conservation groups are studying possible changes to public land management in central and southeastern Oregon. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was released on Nov. 22 by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The agency must determine which of six management alternatives - identified by letters "A" through "F" - will do the best job of helping the greater sage-grouse rebound.

The agency's "preferred alternative" is "D." In areas of sage-grouse habitat, it caps at 3 percent what the EIS calls "human disturbance."

Dan Morse, conservation director, Oregon Natural Desert Association, said that raises some questions.

"Three percent of what, essentially?" he asked. "We don't know how lax or how strict that provision might be. That's very important, because the cap on disturbance could be quite beneficial if it were implemented properly."

He added that "Alternative D" does not say much about activities such as mining or energy development and transmission.

The federal agency is under a court order to decide by 2015 if the bird should be listed as an endangered species. Sage-grouse depend on sagebrush for food and shelter. The Oregon plan is one of 15 in the 10 states where they reside.

Sage-grouse numbers in Oregon are holding steady, compared with population declines in other states. To John O'Keefe, a Lake County rancher and treasurer of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, that is proof that most of the state's cattlemen are doing what they can to coexist with the birds.

"You know, ranchers, to ranch out there in the desert, need the same thing that sage-grouse need. They need healthy rangeland and open space, and they need to not have the landscape taken over by fires or invasive plants," O'Keefe explained.

Conservation groups have said grazing can be just as much a threat to sage-grouse habitat as invasive plants or wildfires. They are leaning toward the two alternatives that would reduce grazing on about 4 million of the 10 million acres in Oregon.

In January, the BLM will hold public meetings in Baker City, Burns, Lakeview, Ontario and Prineville about the draft sage-grouse plans. The comment period is open from now through Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014.

The draft Oregon Greater Sage-Grouse Draft RMP Amendment/EIS and a link to comment are online at www.blm.gov.




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