Moving Forward On Sage Grouse Conservation

Though the Greater Sage Grouse did not receive protection under the Endangered Species Act in September, we have great news to report:

on November 16th, the Montana Land Board (Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Auditor, and Superintendent of the Office of Public Instruction) unanimously voted on a provision to prohibit the break-up, or “sodbusting” of native sagebrush within sage-grouse habitat on state lands. Large-scale removal of sagebrush was also prohibited. The conservation implications of this decision are enormous.

With these two new provisions enacted, Montana is well poised to support Greater Sage-Grouse conservation on state lands; across its range, sodbusting is one of the main threats that grouse face.

This Land Board action helps implement Governor Bullock’s September 2015 Executive Order on sage-grouse. This provision protects about 2.4 million acres in Montana, representing about half of our state lands.

Join our online network to receive an upcoming action alert to thank the Land Board for their actions!