Public Wants Stronger Protection of Sage-Grouse Habitat in West

In the heart of the U.S. West lies one of the nation’s most imperiled ecosystems—tens of millions of acres that are under threat from wildfire, energy development, and the spread of invasive plant species.

This is the sagebrush-steppe biome, home to the greater sage-grouse and more than 350 other species, and the good news is that a new poll found robust support for a federal plan to improve management and protection of this landscape and the flora and fauna that live there. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plan amends a policy implemented in 2015.

In the poll, commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts and conducted by public opinion and market research firm Ipsos, 93% of residents surveyed said efforts by the BLM to protect the greater sage-grouse and its habitat are important. And 41% of respondents—including nearly a third of Republicans and 59% of Democrats—said such protection is “very important.”

In fact, residents across the political spectrum said the BLM’s plans don’t go far enough, and there is strong support—from nearly 60 % of respondents—for the agency to strengthen the plans.

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The BLM released a draft of the plans in March and is now considering public comments received over the ensuing 90 days. The agency is amending its 2015 management plans to better conserve greater sage-grouse habitat on public lands in 10 Western states. In its draft, the BLM accounts for new science, including how climate change and other stressors affect the bird, but its preferred management alternative falls short of the protections scientists say are needed to recover the bird, such as ensuring a minimum of three-mile buffers around breeding grounds and maintaining habitat corridors to allow for genetic connectivity between large populations

A March 2021 study by the U.S. Geological Survey—the most comprehensive analysis ever of sage-grouse population trends—found an 80% decline in the bird’s population throughout its range since 1965, with half of that drop occurring since 2002.

The Ipsos poll, conducted in June, included 632 registered voters in more than 160 largely rural counties across 10 Western states that contain greater sage-grouse habitat. That poll also found that nearly half of Republicans want to see the plans strengthened, with 30% wanting them to stay the same. More than three-quarters of Democrats want to see the plans strengthened, with 19% wanting them to stay the same.

Those results largely support recommendations from 21 leading sage-grouse scientists who, in a recent letter to the BLM, implored the agency to strengthen the plans based on the best available science. The scientists conveyed that the BLM’s proposed management requires significantly stronger conservation measures to substantively protect this iconic species and its expansive habitat.

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The sagebrush steppe landscape covers some 165 million acres throughout the West, is characterized by fragrant sagebrush plants, perennial bunchgrasses, and wildflowers, and is interspersed with streams and meadows. Aside from its value to animals and nature, the landscape is integral to the economy of the region, including for Indigenous communities that have lived here for millennia. A 2022 federal report found that around 1.3 million acres of this ecosystem are lost annually because of wildfires, energy development, and invasive plants. 

By strengthening protection with a forward-looking plan, the BLM could stem those declines and help conserve this vast swath of the American West as a place where people and nature can live, and benefit, in concert.

Laurel Williams manages federal agency policy and local planning work to safeguard lands and waters, wildlife, and communities for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ U.S. conservation project.