“Unfortunately, the protections vary a lot from plan to plan, and most of those are not based in science as they are cherry picking pieces of science to make things easy,”
In late 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will decide whether to list the Greater Sage Grouse as an endangered or threatened species. In preparation for this decision, another federal agency, the Bureau of Land Management, is coordinating a set of plans aimed at protecting the bird and keeping it off the endangered species list.
A group of sage grouse scientists, however, say those plans lack sound science and fail to adequately protect the grouse.
In a Thursday conference call, Ken Rait, director of the Pew Charitable Trusts Western Lands Initiative, said that wildlife biologists believe “there is significant discrepancy between science and the plans.”
In a June letter sent to Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell, a group of 15 wildlife scientists, 12 of them with doctoral degrees, outlined some of the problems they saw with the draft plans. (Final versions will be released in early 2015, so the BLM may still revise them.)
One problem with the plans, the scientists said, is that they lack consistency, “essentially creating 15 different management approaches to sage-grouse conservation within and across state boundaries.”
While some variations are necessary due to regional differences, the variability in the plans is not based in science, the biologists said. For example, one plan may require a certain buffer distances for oil and gas activity or surface disturbance from a priority conservation area or sage grouse breeding ground, and another plan would have a different requirement.
“Unfortunately, the protections vary a lot from plan to plan, and most of those are not based in science as they are cherry picking pieces of science to make things easy,” said Terry Riley, a wildlife biologist and director of conservation policy at the North American Grouse Partnership.
The other criticism the scientists laid out is that the conservation measures the BLM recommends are not supported by the best available science.
Matt Holloran, a principal and senior ecologist with Wyoming Wildlife Consultants, also criticized the BLM draft plans for failing to come up with a coordinated effort to manage invasive species like cheatgrass and medusahead, which, after wildfire, come in and take over important sagebrush habitat. In fact, in some of the plans, burning sagebrush was considered as a tool in wildlife managers toolboxes, which Holloran said was a bad idea.
“The science is pretty conclusive that fire should not be considered a management option,” he said…(CONTINUED)
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Wild horses would eat the cheat grass . Sage grouse need sagebrush and wild horses would spreed the seeds with their droppings. Burning it is just plain stupid plus burns gets out of control.
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The BLM has never listened to experts, in fact quite the opossite, they believe they are the experts, records show they are dumb as Rocks !!!!!!! and have no smarts when it comes to Mustangs, what they are doing and have done is a disgrace !!!!!! to all , who have commonsense !!!!!!!! Geeze they are land management people who cannot even do that right , where is our expert team to replace them??????????????/
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The sage grouse is one of many indicator species (canary in the coal mine) and as with other species that are being decimated, it is almost entirely human caused.
If we think for a minute about how these human actions (especially domestic livestock grazing and oil/gas/mining extraction) will be impacted by the endangered listing of these birds then we can easily see why this listing is being fought by those humans who will be affected in their pocket$.
In the meantime … hunting of sage grouse is still being done and the Nevada Department of Wildlife states: “Sage-grouse hunting provides a traditional recreation opportunity that is considered an appropriate use of wildlife resources.” This is the old “killing them does not hurt them” way of thinking.
Click to access Sage-grouse%20Hunting%20in%20Nevada.pdf
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Agreed.
And last I checked, most birder orgs are anti-wild equine. The phrase, “Cut off their nose to spite their face” comes to mind.
I still marvel, agape at the stupidity of the President, Congress and American public at the rape of this land and violation of the law.
I understand human frailties, but that no true advocate in an elected or appointed position has had a voice or recognition pursuit of truth and justice is more than disturbing.
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What are they smoking, drinking, or eating at the BLM!!!????? Obviously they not know anything!
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They are high on power, greed and self aggrandizement…with a little bit of graft in the tune of perks like drugs, cash, jobs, favors, etc.
OH! And a Congress, judiciary an Prez that give them a funded highway to evil.
BTW..this isn’t just about wild equines…..
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Some advise for the BLM: You cannot solve your problems with the same Lame thinking you used when YOU created them………..Albert Einstein………….You need
New thinking and positive Solutions !!!!!!!!
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I just finished a book called Touching the Wild – its about mule deer = not wild horses. One of those books I read in a day! Many of the problems with the mule deer certainly sound like our wild horses & burros. The author has done several other studies of wild animals – becoming a part of their lives. Apparently there was a PBS video of this. Well worth reading – and very sad – with hunting seasons for does & FAWNS every year plus all the other dangers they have to get past. The “management” style is the same for all these creatures – whether they are wild horses & burros or mule deer. And humans are supposed to be the enlightened ones? Far from it.
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It is never about the saving anything it is all about getting people off the land and stopping the use of land by individuals so that corporations can make all the money. They do not care about lifestyles of generations of families. Look atthe history of spotted owl and save the salmon, many lives were and are destroyed.
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