The announcement was unwelcome but not a surprise. In July, North Dakota wildlife officials published the results of their annual survey of Greater Sage-grouse populations; Like a dying light bulb, flickering for years, the last known population in the state of the symbolic bird finally blinked out. Long limited to one small area in North Dakota’s southwest corner, Greater Sage-grouse are now effectively extinct in the state.
The decline of the Greater Sage-grouse, whose survival is dependent on large tracts of healthy sagebrush country, reflects a larger pattern of habitat loss across the West. As landscapes are fragmented by various forms of development, roads, and wildfires, the resilience of the sagebrush ecosystem diminishes. Healthy sagebrush lands store carbon, support healthy air and waters, buffer communities against increasingly extreme weather conditions, and support outdoor recreation industries that generate billions of dollars each year.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees the country’s largest share of sage-grouse habitat, encompassing 67 million acres of public lands. The agency updated plans to manage Greater sage-grouse habitat in 2015 and reinitiated the planning process in 2021 to incorporate new research and address climate threats. While planning was completed for public lands in Colorado and Oregon in early 2025, five remaining BLM management plans have yet to be finalized for eight states – Idaho, Montana/North Dakota/South Dakota, Nevada/California, Utah and Wyoming.
In September, BLM released a new list of proposed changes to the plans. Audubon hopes this current attempt at developing plan amendments and records of decision for Greater sage-grouse conservation will not only result in plans that reverse recent declines in populations in a manner that ensures the species can continue to remain off the list of threatened or endangered species. Finalized plans must also protect intact landscapes, achieve consistency across the species’ range and prove durable. Sound and defensible sage-grouse habitat management plans also offer benefits for many western communities, industries and wildlife that depend on healthy sagebrush lands and waters.
Audubon supports changes to the range-wide management plans that are scientifically defensible, ensuring management actions are based on the best available science. These management actions – including recently proposed changes – should focus on improving habitat conditions and minimizing new surface disturbances, two pillars of the 2015 plans recommended by scientists to prevent further declines of Greater sage-grouse populations, thus avoiding the necessity for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. For these habitat management plans to ultimately succeed in reversing the long-term decline in sage-grouse populations, they must address several key factors:
· Consistency across the bird’s range. Management decisions should be straightforward, scientifically defensible, enforceable, and consistent across state boundaries. Because these birds are found across such a vast landscape, sound management approaches that are consistent across state lines are imperative. For defensibility, the remaining plans need to line up with Colorado and Oregon’s completed plans for consistency across the species’ range.
· Ensure essential habitats are managed to sustain sage-grouse populations. Loss of healthy habitat is a major reason for the species’ overall decline. Development should be directed to areas with fewer conflicts, ensuring the best remaining habitat continues to support strong sage-grouse populations.
· Effective adaptive management. Clear, science-based management actions must be implemented when specific populations decline. Without enforceable backstops, plans risk becoming paper promises rather than real safeguards.
Audubon has long emphasized that sage-grouse conservation is not about stopping all development. It is about directing activities to the right places, at the right scale, with the right safeguards. That approach protects wildlife, sustains local economies, and reduces legal vulnerability for the agency. With these considerations in mind, Audubon and partners submitted technical comments to the BLM before the official public comment period closed on Oct. 3. Audubon members and supporters across the country also engaged with the BLM, with over 17,000 people speaking up for scientifically defensible habitat management plans for the bird.
Protecting sage-grouse is about more than a single species—it is about sustaining the natural heritage and economic vitality across much of the American West. With science, collaboration, and public commitment, it is still possible to reverse the decline of this iconic bird and safeguard the future of the ecosystem it represents.
