Pocatello, ID The BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) has responded to the just-announced Department of Interior decision that endangered species listing for the greater sage grouse is "not warranted."
"This decision and the process leading to it has unfolded exactly as we predicted in our August 28, 2015, letter to the affected agencies," announced Don Amador, Western Representative for BRC. "While agency leadership is proclaiming a great victory and collaborative success story, the reality is we will all soon become mired in avoidable litigation. It is far from certain that the listing decision will survive judicial scrutiny, and even if it does the decision comes at a great and uncertain price in the form of the sweeping land use plan amendments that were crammed through without sufficient public input."
BRC's previous letter points to new information and changes in the plan amendments that occurred after the close of public comment. The letter further predicts that the same interest groups who insisted on a hard deadline for the listing decision on the grouse, and other species, have exerted undue influence on the planning process, yet will still be the first to aggressively challenge the "not warranted" decision in court.
For more information, contact (800) BLUERIB or www.sharetrails.org.
