Lawsuit Filed to Protect Sage-grouse Habitat in Craters of the Moon National Monument

Western Watersheds Project has taken a significant step to protect the Greater sage-grouse by filing a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The lawsuit challenges the Department of Interior's approval of fifteen sheep grazing permits within Idaho's Craters of the Moon National Monument, citing the expansion of livestock impacts in critical sage-grouse habitat.

Grazing Permits and Environmental Concerns

The BLM's decision to renew grazing permits without fully considering environmental impacts has raised concerns. The permits expand the grazing season by 40 days and allow 17 miles of new fencing in priority habitat for the Greater sage-grouse. These fences pose collision risks for the low-flying bird, and changes to the grazing season affect critical breeding and nesting periods.

Declining Sage-grouse Populations

There are nine active sage-grouse leks on the allotment and 21 additional occupied leks within 5 miles. Lek attendance has significantly declined from around 50 males per lek in 1951 to just 10 males per lek in 2013. Immediate protections are necessary, yet the BLM's decisions fail to provide them. Instead, they allow livestock earlier in the spring and later into the summer, authorizing a 5,800-acre “forage reserve” that requires new fencing near sage-grouse leks.

Infrastructure and Predation Risks

The decisions also permit new range developments, including a corral, a well, troughs, and other infrastructure. These developments provide water sources and increased perches for ravens and raptors, which prey on sage-grouse chicks and eggs. Meanwhile, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has proposed killing nearly 1,000 ravens to reduce predation, highlighting a lack of cohesive strategy among agencies.

The Lawsuit's Objective

The lawsuit aims to expose the flawed basis for the BLM's decision-making and compel the agency to reconsider its approach to renewing sheep permits in sage-grouse habitat.

Images of the Big Desert allotment are available here.

Find a copy of the complaint here.