In mid-January, the 9th Circuit Court ruled to uphold a 2020 decision that prevented oil and gas leasing on sage grouse habitat.
In 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a sage grouse plan which required the agency to prioritize oil and gas leasing outside of habitat. The Trump administration nullified the mandate by limiting its application. On Jan. 17, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the BLM’s plans for prioritizing leasing outside of habitat “requires affirmative action by the agency to promote and encourage leasing outside of sage-grouse habitat” and requires “independent agency determinations of which parcels to offer for oil and gas leases.”
Environmental groups applauded the decision. “The Bureau of Land Management must heed this decision as it considers where to prioritize development moving forward,” said Bailey Brennan of National Wildlife Federation.
