Industry groups submitted comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) draft plans for greater sage-grouse habitat management.
“The greater sage-grouse has been a political football for decades and it needs to stop. The science clearly shows that livestock grazing on public lands helps sage grouse populations by protecting important habitat and increasing available forage,” said Public Lands Council (PLC) President Mark Roeber.
PLC said grazing reduces the risk of wildfires and encroachment of invasive spaces, and increases the biomass and diversity of insects that the sage grouse eats.
Comments were filed by PLC, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Sheep Industry Association and Association of National Grassland, along with their state affiliates.
