As efforts continue to see federal habitat conservation efforts aligned with state wildlife management plans, a meeting is coming up this month in Vernal to answer questions regarding recently released draft amendments to the sage grouse plans from 2015. The amendments were published on May 4th and are in the middle of a 90-day public comment period that ends August 2nd. “The BLM’s efforts to align management of sagebrush-steppe habitat with state wildlife management plans will result in increased management flexibility, maintain or improve access to public resources, and promote conservation outcomes,” shares Utah state director Ed Roberson. “We believe that the resulting federal and state plans will complement and strengthen each other.” Governors from western states including Utah have pushed for adjustments to the 2015 plans for BLM managed lands. The plan amendments could affect up to 61 land-use plans for about 53 million acres in seven western states and in Utah alone, 14 plans guiding management on 4 million acres of public land could be revised. A meeting will be held in Vernal at the Western Park on June 27th from 5 to 7pm. Two other meetings will take place in the state; one in Cedar City on June 26th and one in Randolph on June 28th.
