Salem, Ore. – The Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted amended administrative rules for sage-grouse management in Oregon at its meeting in Salem today.
The new rules require mitigation actions to offset impacts of large-scale and other developments such as aggregate mining, wind, solar, and geothermal energy plants.
Before today, ODFW mitigation rules were pretty much only recommendations – and not requirements. The sage grouse has had a tough time in recent years because of range fires, development and recreation impacting the land it’s known to thrive on in Oregon.
These rules are key now because the federal government is thinking about listing the bird as threatened or endangered. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to make that decision in September.
Recently, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell made a stop in Bend to announce collaborative plans to help the Sage Grouse.
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