BLM draft sage-grouse plan draws mixed support; committee authorizes state comment

The Bureau of Land Management’s draft range‑wide amendment to greater sage‑grouse management drew extensive testimony before the Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee, with state officials, counties and industry urging clarifications and more state control. Committee co‑chairs authorized staff to finalize and submit formal comments before the public deadline.

Andrew Archuleta, BLM state director for Wyoming, said the draft amendment consolidates range‑wide science and includes five to six alternatives. He described the preferred alternative (Alternative 5) as “conservation with additional flexibility for development” and said BLM and Wyoming agencies have been working to reconcile differences, with adaptive management the primary unresolved item. Archuleta noted the draft is out for public comment…