BLM abandoned best-available science for Wyoming, Montana sage grouse, lawsuit argues

A new lawsuit argues that the Bureau of Land Management’s recently revised sage grouse plans for Wyoming and Montana are inadequate to reverse population declines that have continued to plague the beleaguered bird. Filed by Earthjustice in the U.S. District Court of Montana, the 68-page complaint contends that the Trump administration in 2025 did away with conservation safeguards implemented under the Obama administration.

“The Trump administration is basically gutting those plans, and reneging on the commitments it made in 2015 to protect the sage grouse,” Earthjustice senior attorney Mike Freeman said. “They really just ignore the science and haven’t faced up to the question of whether these plans put sage grouse on a trajectory towards extinction.”

The complaint argues watered-down plans have enabled continued sage grouse declines in Wyoming and Montana, which encompass “over half” the remaining sage grouse in the world. The species remains in decline, with populations diminishing by 13% across eastern Wyoming and Montana, and 24% in western Wyoming, since 2013.

Earthjustice’s complaint is the second lawsuit of this sort. On March 2, Advocates for the West sued the BLM on behalf of seven conservation groups who disagree with the agency’s entire nine-state policy. Gov. Mark Gordon’s office said the state is weighing whether to intervene in the case. “Wyoming has been and continues to be a pioneer in sage-grouse protection and management, supported by over 60 years of experience,” Gordon said.