The Western Governor’s Association has released a special report outlining numerous programs Wyoming and other western states have adopted to stop the rapid decline of the greater sage grouse. But Wildlife Biologist Erik Molvar with WildEarth Guardians says sage grouse numbers have been plummeting and it’s going to take more than local, voluntary efforts to turn things around.
“It’s going to require range-wide commitments to science-based protections that are mandatory.”
Fremont County Commissioner Doug Thompson is on Governor Mead’s Wyoming sage grouse team. He says the state plan does have plenty of regulatory teeth to it.
“In Wyoming especially, there is a regulatory mechanism out there that is considerably greater than the voluntary efforts,” Thompson says. “One is, any activity that requires permitting within in the state of Wyoming has to address sage grouse conservation.”
The report comes ahead of a September 30 deadline when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife will decide whether to list the bird as an endangered species.
Documents like this will be brought onto the table as evidence that states are indeed stepping up to the plate to conserve grouse.
Thompson says the report could be used as evidence in court in an effort to prove states have done everything they can to address declining sage grouse numbers.
“Documents like this will be brought onto the table as evidence that states are indeed stepping up to the plate to conserve grouse.”
But biologist Erik Molvar says states have not adopted strong enough science-based protections and that’s why, he says their efforts aren’t working.
“The fact of the matter is sage grouse populations are down by more than half since 2007. You can’t point to these voluntary measures and local projects as making a big difference in the sage grouse population when in fact they’re still going downward.”
To view the complete report by the Western Governor’s Association on sage grouse, click here.
