Barrasso Statement on Sage Grouse
Written by broebling on June 8, 2017
Press Release — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), released the following statement on the administration’s announcement to review restrictive protection plans for the greater sage grouse.
“I applaud Secretary Zinke for opening up these problematic sage grouse management plans,” said Barrasso. “This review must be done carefully and include meaningful input from states, especially Wyoming which has led this conservation effort for years.
“I share Governors Mead and Hickenlooper’s concerns that setting population targets is not the best way to manage this species. Comments like these reflect valuable state expertise that will help the Department of the Interior during the course of this review. I will continue to work with the administration as it implements its plan to conserve the sage grouse habitat in a more balanced way.”
Background Information
On May 26, 2017, Governors Matt Mead (R-WY) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke noting that setting population targets to conserve a species is problematic.
