On November 22, 2021, the Bureau of Land Management published a notice of intent to review land use plans for sage-grouse habitat in the Western United States. BLM will reconsider 2019 amendments to the land use plans in the States of California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming, which had opened sage-grouse habitat to oil and gas drilling and mining, and which the United States District Court for the District of Idaho preliminarily enjoined in October 2019. BLM will also reconsider 2015 amendments to the sage-grouse land use plans in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. In its published notice, BLM states that the 2019 and 2015 amendments are potentially inconsistent with new science and rapid changes affecting the BLM’s management of the public lands, including the effects of climate change.
BLM’s notice of intent requests comments on a number of climate-related issues pertaining to land management in BLM-managed sage-grouse habitat. BLM is accepting comments until February 7, 2022.