The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will not be authorized to allow 16,000 sheep to graze on an allotment in southeastern Idaho, after a judge blocked the decision following a lawsuit intervention by Western Watersheds Project (WWP).
Sheep would have been authorized to graze on the 270,000-acre Twin Buttes Allotment through the winter, which WWP said was harmful to one of the most important sage grouse connectivity and winter migration corridors north of the Snake River. The conservation group filed suit in a Department of Interior law court to challenge the decision.
“Despite having full access to high quality scientific reports produced by its own team of sage grouse experts for the Twin Buttes area, the BLM chose to ignore the best available science in favor of livestock producers,” said Patrick Kelly, WWP Idaho director, in a released statement.
“In a region of Idaho that has seen a 58% reduction in sage grouse populations since 2011, turning a blind eye to this imperiled species is both irresponsible and unacceptable. The BLM can and should do better when making decisions that impact habitat crucial to the long term survival of sage grouse.”
The group claims the allotment contains vital overwintering habitat for sage grouse, and the older sagebrush and lower elevations make the area ideal for the birds to seek protection in the winter.
WWP said BLM radio telemetry studies showed that each fall, sage grouse groups migrate down from the mountains in the north and into Twin Buttes to overwinter.
“Surrounded on nearly all sides by agricultural development and other human-caused disturbances, this refuge of public lands provides a narrow lifeline to the surrounding mountains, connecting sage grouse with the full suite of seasonal habitats it requires,” the group said.
WWP said the migration corridor was revealed once the group made a Freedom of Information Act request and found BLM reports about the corridor’s importance. The group claimed the analysis BLM used when making its decision to allow sheep grazing did not reference or acknowledge the reports.
“It instead opted to turn out 16,000 sheep directly over the top of this corridor without any analysis of the impacts this may have on sage grouse migration and connectivity,” WWP said.
Memo
The environmentalists acknowledged that BLM has taken “a step in the right direction” by recently issuing a memorandum for BLM offices to incorporate areas of habitat connectivity in land use planning and resource management decisions.
The November 2022 memo instructs BLM state offices to consult with state fish and wildlife agencies and Tribes to assess habitat connectivity.
“The management of the connections between and within priority habitats (for both migratory and non-migratory species) has, in some cases, received less attention and, with increasing habitat fragmentation and degradation, maintaining habitat integrity and connectivity has become a significant need,” the memo read.
BLM state offices have until November to assess priority habitat and the connectivity between them. State directors will determine which priority species and habitats to prioritize in their consultations with states and Tribes. Once the directors assess connectivity and areas of priority, land use planning efforts will include how to manage and analyze connectivity.
Where “resource conflicts” exist, state directors will take into consideration the significance of the habitat, the nature of the conflicts, state and Tribal priorities and other uses of the public lands.
Strategies and projects to benefit habitat connectivity could include the following:
• Removing fencing, installing wildlife-friendly fencing.
• Building wildlife crossings.
• Treatments “that promote resilient species composition and structure of native plant communities.”
• Strategic development and location of water sources.
• Projects that address fire, drought and invasive species impacts.
• Land and Water Conservation Fund and/or Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act acquisitions that support habitat connectivity.
“While they fell far short of doing so in the case of Twin Buttes, the BLM now has an opportunity to start from scratch and craft a decision that protects and restores habitat connectivity for sage grouse,” Kelly said. “We hope they choose to do the right thing next time around by protecting vital sage grouse migration corridors and habitat from the impacts of domestic sheep, which compete directly with sage grouse for food. We will be watching closely to ensure that they do.” — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
