Lawsuit Filed Over Trump Administration Abandonment of Sage-Grouse Protections

Montana Wildlife Federation, Defenders of Wildlife, and The Wilderness Society today sued the U.S. Bureau of Land Management over its abandonment of critical protections for the declining greater sage-grouse. In 2015, the agency adopted land management plans that established range-wide protections for the species across public lands in 10 western states. In December, the BLM drastically amended these plans, opening the door for substantial oil-and-gas development across the sage-grouse’s remaining habitat.

Today’s suit, filed by Earthjustice in Montana District Court, challenges BLM’s plans for Wyoming and Montana – states that are home to over half the remaining sage-grouse population. The lawsuit argues that the BLM failed to consider the best available science in reversing course on the plans or whether the weakened plans would be adequate to conserve the sage-grouse and halt population declines. The complaint argues that the agency abandoned the protective measures to maximize resource development without considering impacts on the species.

“We’re taking the Trump administration to court for its latest gambit to bulldoze over the iconic greater sage-grouse,” said Ben Tettlebaum, acting senior legal director with The Wilderness Society. “The bird and its habitat stand in the way of the administration’s aim of leasing every corner of our national public lands to the oil and gas industry. We’re fighting to defend the freedom of all Americans, now and in the future, to enjoy the public lands that the sage-grouse calls home.”

The BLM adopted the 2015 sage-grouse protections—after working closely with the public and affected states—to avoid needing to list the species under the Endangered Species Act.  A key component of the plans was a requirement for the BLM to avoid harms to sage-grouse habitat from oil and gas development—a major threat to the species—by prioritizing leasing outside of such habitat to “limit future surface disturbance” there and “guide development to lower conflict areas.”  The 2015 plans were a critical factor in the  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s determination that listing the sage-grouse as threatened or endangered was not warranted.

“This incredible and unique bird is losing time and its home,” said Kate Kane, senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife. “We’re holding the Bureau accountable for its protection on public lands, otherwise we may face a real risk of losing the sage-grouse.”

Recent science only confirms the need for more protective sage-grouse conservation measures. The greater sage-grouse remains in decline, with populations dropping by 13% in eastern Wyoming and Montana, and 24% in western Wyoming, since 2013. In 2025, scientists found that the sage-grouse had gone extinct in Interior Secretary Burgum’s home state of North Dakota.   Scientific research has shown that oil and gas infrastructure negatively impacts the sage-grouse’s use of breeding grounds (leks) to approximately 4 miles or more, prompting a recommendation from scientists of a 3-to-5-mile development buffer around lek sites. The BLM’s new plans are wildly out of step with this science, adopting development buffers of .6 miles or less in Montana and Wyoming.

“The Trump administration has reneged on commitments the federal government made to protect the sage-grouse, in an effort to hand over our public lands to the oil and gas industry,” said Michael Freeman, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “In gutting the plans, the BLM ignored the best available science and is putting the grouse on a path towards extinction.  We’ll see the agency in court.”

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