Sage-grouse conservation is under siege

Speak up now for the greater sage-grouse!

Dear folks, From its shared history with Native Americans and prominent mention in Lewis and Clark’s reports, to its signature mating dance that is enjoyed by wildlife watchers from around the world, the greater sage-grouse is truly an icon of the American West. But this unique, spunky bird is now caught up in a dance for its very survival. The Trump administration has been actively working against the sage-grouse’s future, and now the U.S. Forest Service has joined the effort to hamstring collaborative conservation of the bird and its habitat on national forest lands. Act Now: Tell the U.S. Forest Service to preserve protections for greater sage-grouse. Sage-grouse populations have declined by more than 90 percent from their historic numbers, but thanks to years of collaboration by hundreds of stakeholders and the support of key Western governors, sage-grouse were given a lifeline in the form of a landmark 2015 conservation plan that protected habitat on Forest Service and other federal public lands. The plan wasn’t perfect, but it represented a much-needed step forward for the future conservation of these fancy dancers. But the Trump administration has begun the process of dismantling current conservation measures in order to turn over essential sage-grouse habitat to the fossil fuel and mining industries. The administration’s intentions for the conservation plan have been clear since last summer, when it disparaged the science-based strategy as a "burden" to fossil fuel development on public lands. Submit your comments by January 19th and demand that wildlife never take a backseat to industry on our public lands. Sage-grouse belong on our Western landscape, and they deserve a robust conservation strategy to ensure their future. Billion-dollar extractive industries don’t need any more help; wildlife being pushed out of their native habitats and toward extinction do. Rather than weaken protections for sage-grouse and their sagebrush habitat, the administration should consider ways to improve the current federal strategy to conserve this vital ecosystem. Speak up now for the greater sage-grouse! Demand the Trump administration preserve protections for this iconic bird. Sincerely, Pete Nelson Director of Federal Lands Defenders of Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife | 1130 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20036 | defenders.org Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. © Copyright 2018 Defenders of Wildlife