BLM issues ROD on Greater Sage Grouse RMPA

On Dec. 22, 2025, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a record of decision (ROD) to update its Greater Sage Grouse Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA), finalizing revisions to land use plans across the West following years of environmental review, public input and agency coordination.

According to the BLM’s corresponding press release, the ROD amends 77 land use plans sprawling nearly 65 million acres of sagebrush habitat across Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas, Nevada, California, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Oregon, which sustain more than 350 wildlife species.

In its announcement, BLM further notes the ROD aligns with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14154, Unleashing American Energy, with the intention of conserving sage grouse habitat while simultaneously allowing livestock grazing, energy development and other multiple-use mandates on public lands. 

Developed in close collaboration with western governors, state wildlife agencies, federal grazing permittees and other local stakeholders, the plan also aims to reflect the best available science and address individual state management strategies.

Acting BLM Director Bill Groffy comments, “We are strengthening American energy security while ensuring sage grouse continue to thrive. Healthy sagebrush country powers our communities, sustains wildlife and supports the economies that make the West strong.” 

State-specific ROD

Among the agency’s updated plan, Wyoming received its own state-specific ROD, in which state officials emphasized protections will remain intact through the state’s core area strategy, even where federal designations changed. 

This strategy has guided sage grouse conservation in the Cowboy State – home to nearly 40 percent of the world’s sage grouse population – for decades.

In a statement made on Dec. 22, 2025, Gov. Mark Gordon praises the BLM’s decision and collaborative efforts. 

“Wyoming has consistently advocated for a finalized Greater Sage Grouse RMPA which recognizes the state’s management authority over the species utilizing the best-available science,” Gordon says. “Wyoming has been a leader in sage grouse conservation for six decades, and the state of Wyoming’s EO Greater Sage Grouse Core Area Protection strategy has spanned three governors in its foresight to have a state-led conservation strategy.”

“We will continue to invest in sage grouse conservation alongside responsible development in Wyoming,” he continues. “I’m glad to see the BLM’s plan affirms this EO after a collaborative process with the state.”

Mixed reactions

As is the case with any movement on a hot-button issue, the BLM’s recent announcement stirred up mixed reactions. 

Conservation groups criticized the final decision, arguing it will weaken protections in key habitat areas; lead to increased surface disturbance from development and remove safeguards established under earlier plans, particularly those in the Golden Triangle – the largest sage grouse breeding ground in the world, located in the heart of Wyoming’s Red Desert.

“Every president starting with Obama has screwed over these iconic Western birds,” states Randi Spivak, public lands policy director for the Center for Biological Diversity, in a Dec. 22, 2025 statement. “We’ll keep fighting until these beautiful dancing birds and the places they live get the protection they deserve.”

Ag groups, on the other hand, praised the ROD for recognizing the role producers play in maintaining sagebrush ecosystems and preventing catastrophic wildfires.

In a Dec. 23, 2025 press release, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Public Lands Council (PLC) note they have submitted comments to the BLM during multiple revision phases dating back to 2015, urging BLM to use managed livestock grazing as a conservation tool rather than restrict grazing access on public rangelands.

They also point out, because sage grouse habitat varies from state to state, the one-size-fits-all approach pushed by the Biden administration would have been ineffective. 

“The revised sage grouse management plans recognize the role of cattle producers as the original conservationists and follows the best available science,” states NCBA President and Nebraska Cattlemen Buck Wehrbein. “Without ranchers actively managing millions of acres of western rangeland, there would be less habitat and forage, and sage grouse populations would be substantially smaller.”

“This is the blueprint for how management plans should be revised in the future, with a bottom-up approach focusing on input from land managers and rural communities which live alongside wildlife including sage grouse,” he adds. “NCBA thanks the BLM and the Trump administration for releasing these plans which greatly utilize stakeholder input.”

PLC President and Colorado Rancher Tim Canterbury further comments, “The revised sage grouse management plans will support the work of ranchers across the West as we work to create optimal habitat for sage grouse. These plans unleash the conservation prowess of federal lands ranchers and allow critical conservation work supporting sage grouse habitat to continue without burdensome government red tape.” 

“Previous administrations have wanted to use these management plans to tie up millions of acres of land and let them further degrade. This would not have helped boost sage grouse numbers and it is flat out unscientific,” Canterbury concludes. “Ranchers throughout the West are thankful for the Trump administration and BLM leadership for releasing these detailed plans to the benefit of sage grouse and ranchers alike.”

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.