The Trump administration has canceled an environmental impact study of sage grouse habitat in six western states including Utah. The study, which began in 2015, designated a 10-million-acre Sagebrush Focal Area in order to study the impacts of resource extraction on sagebrush ecosystems.
Acting BLM director Mike Nedd says, “The proposal to withdraw 10 million acres to prevent 10,000 from potential mineral development was a complete overreach.” Of course, without the study it is impossible to know which acres are essential sage grouse habitat since mineral leasing will resume in the entire area.