Idaho Sage-grouse Task Force
On March 9, 2012, Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter promulgated Executive Order 2012-02 [PDF, 341 kb] establishing a 15-member Sage-Grouse Task Force. The purpose of the Task Force is to provide Governor Otter with recommendations by June 1, 2012, to ensure the species' long-term viability in Idaho and to prevent the need for the federal protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The Task Force recommendations will be aimed at facilitating short- and long-term solutions to the primary and secondary threats to the species and its habitat, all in an effort to avoid the serious and economically damaging impacts an ESA listing would create as Idaho continues to emerge from the national recession. The promulgation of this executive order is an effort to elevate the issue, ensuring swift response to the problem by tasking a wide variety of impacted and interested stakeholders.
Governor Otter submitted the State’s alternative (see document below) to BLM for inclusion in a BLM EIS. The BLM EIS will analyze alternatives for revising land-use plans (LUPs) for lands that include sage-grouse habitat to incorporate consistent objectives and conservation measures by September 2014 in an effort to preclude the need to list the greater sage-grouse under the ESA.
The Task Force recommendations were submitted to the Governor on June 15 and were aimed at facilitating short- and long-term solutions to the primary and secondary threats to the species and its habitat in Idaho. Task Force recommendations will become part of a larger state plan that will be available for public comment in late June. Submission of the final plan to the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture will follow the public review and comment process and is targeted for mid-July.
News Release, June 15, 2012 — [PDF, 129 KB]
- Meeting Agenda - [PDF, 89 kb]
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- PPH/PGH and BLM Special Designations - [PDF, 1.7 mb]
- Wildfires and Invasive Plants in the Great Basin: Conserving Sagebrush Ecosystems - BLM [PDF, 3 mb]
- Draft Proposed Transmission Routes for Idaho - [PDF, 2.5 mb]
- BLM Idaho Aircraft Response - [PDF, 229 kb]
- Cheatgrass Risk Map - [PDF, 150 kb]
- Fire Districts - [PDF, 700 kb]
- Preliminary Priority & Preliminary General Sage-grouse Habitat, Idaho Version 2 - [PDF, 235 kb]
- Preliminary Priority (3 Category) & Preliminary General Sage-grouse Habitat, Idaho Version 2 - [PDF, 239 kb]
- Framework to Identify Greater Sage-grouse Preliminary Priority Habitat and Preliminary General Habitat - [PDF, 4.5 mb]
- PPH Overview - BLM [PDF, 4 mb]
- Sage Grouse Lek Route Protocols - [PDF, 1 mb]
- Sage-grouse and Fences - [PDF, 33 kb]
- Meeting Agenda - [PDF, 87 kb]
- Steps in Reviewing a Species for ESA Listing - USFWS [PDF, 23 kb]
- NRCS Sage-grouse Initiative - Idaho Fish & Game [PDF, 3.7 mb]
- Greater Sage-grouse 12 Month Finding - FWS [PDF, 425 kb]
- Planning Process/Timeline for Sage-grouse RMP/LUP Amendments - BLM [PDF, 1.2 mb]
- Sage-grouse and Sagebrush Steppe, Part 1 - USGS - [PDF, 5.1 mb]
- Sage-grouse and Sagebrush Steppe, Part 2 - Idaho Fish & Game [PDF, 5.2 mb]
- National Greater Sage-grouse Conservation Measures - BLM [PDF, 1.8 mb]
- Livestock Grazing & Fuels - University of Idaho [PDF, 2.6 mb]
- Sage-grouse Ecology 101 - Idaho Fish & Game [PDF, 3 mb]
- Conservation Management of Greater Sage-grouse in Idaho - Idaho Fish & Game [PDF, 2 mb]
- Chuck Jones - J.R.Simplot Co.
- Wally Butler - Idaho Farm Bureau Federation
- Richard Savage - Idaho Cattle Association
- Brett Dumas - Idaho Power
- Randy Vranes - Monsanto
- Bill Myers - Wind/renewable
- Senator Bert Brackett
- Representative Judy Boyle, Ex Officio Member
- Representative Scott Bedke
- Bob Cope - Lemhi County Commissioner
- Jerry Hoagland - Owyhee County Commissioner
- Rochelle Oxrango - Public at large
- Gene Gray - West Central Local Working Group
- John Robison - Idaho Conservation League
- Will Whelan - The Nature Conservancy
- Jack Oyler - Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife
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