SAN FRANCISCO (January 17, 2025) -- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld a 2020 district court decision that struck down the basis for oil and gas leasing on more than a million acres of public lands that serve as key habitat for the Greater sage-grouse, an iconic bird species of the Western United States.
The court ruled that, under historic plans enacted in 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is mandated to prioritize leasing outside of essential sage-grouse habitat. The 2015 plans specifically require “affirmative action by the agency to promote and encourage leasing outside of sage-grouse habitat,” and necessitate “independent agency determinations of which parcels to offer for oil and gas leases.” Today’s decision affirms the district court’s invalidation of 158 oil and gas leases located in vital habitat areas, leases that violated the BLM’s requirements.
“Sound public lands management is critical to halting the decline of the Greater Sage-grouse, a bird that is tied to the health of sagebrush country itself,” said Alison Holloran, executive director of Audubon Rockies and vice president of National Audubon Society. “With the collective interest in good management and conservation, this decision from the court underscores that the Bureau of Land Management must consider sage-grouse habitat when leasing for oil and gas development on public lands. Thoughtful siting of development and on-the-ground efforts are key to ensuring that we have healthy public lands to pass down to future generations.”
Recent studies show that the grouse has declined 80 percent across its range since 1965. An estimated 1.3 million acres of functional sagebrush ecosystem are lost to climate change and development every year.
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Contact: Jason Howe, jason.howe@audubon.org; 415-595-9245