Trump administration eases protections for greater sage grouse on 50 million acres

On Dec. 22, 2025, the Trump administration weakened protections for the greater sage grouse, making it easier for oil and gas drilling, mining and grazing on about 50 million acres of land across eight Western states. The Bureau of Land Management, which oversees Western lands critical to sage grouse habitat, said the proposed changes would make more space available for development while continuing to protect "key habitats" for the bird across approximately 65 million acres of land.

"We are strengthening American energy security while ensuring the sage grouse continues to thrive," said Bill Groffy, the acting director of the bureau, which is part of the Interior Department. The greater sage grouse is considered an indicator of the health of an ecosystem that spans 11 Western states and depends on healthy sagebrush grasslands that also support hundreds of smaller bird species and animals such as pronghorn, mule deer and elk.

Estimates once put the species as high as 16 million, but a 2021 U.S. Geological Survey report found populations have plummeted by 80 percent, with half of that decline occurring since 2002. The plan covers state plans the Biden administration never finalized for Utah, Idaho, Montana, North and South Dakota, Nevada, Wyoming and California; protections set by the Biden administration for Oregon and Colorado were not changed.

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Politics, Greater Sage Grouse, Wyoming, Utah, Blm, Trump Administration