Some Utah Experts Support Sage Grouse Protection Rollbacks

An iconic bird species known for dramatically puffing up “bulbous yellow air sacs” on its chest is now puffing up controversy on the political landscape as the focus of a series of amendments to its management plan published recently that open up 51 million acres of habitat to oil, gas and mineral leasing. Environmental groups responded to the development with outrage, labeling these Trump administration rollbacks on protections for the greater sage grouse bird as “dangerous” and anti-science. But some scientists who study greater sage grouse conservation stand behind the changes, claiming the issue is more nuanced than it appears.