Scientific Inventory Of Onshore Federal Lands Oil And Gas Resources And The Extent And Nature Of Restrictions Or Impediments To Their Development

Admired for its elaborate breeding displays and treasured as a game bird, the Greater Sage-Grouse is a charismatic symbol of the broad open spaces in western North America. Unfortunately these birds have declined across much of their range—which stretches across 11 western states and reaches into Canada—mostly due to loss of critical sagebrush habitat. Today the Greater Sage-Grouse is at the center of a complex conservation challenge. This multifaceted volume, an important foundation for developing conservation strategies and actions, provides a comprehensive synthesis of scientific information on the biology and ecology of the Greater Sage-Grouse. Bringing together the experience of thirty-eight researchers, it describes the bird’s population trends, its sagebrush habitat, and potential limitations to conservation, including the effects of rangeland fire, climate change, invasive plants, disease, and land uses such as energy development, grazing, and agriculture.

Rising U.S. energy consumption & concerns about dependency on foreign energy sources have prompted the admin. to aggressively pursue domestic oil & gas (O&G) prod., incl. prod. on public lands, which in turn has generated concern that the impacts of this activity may compromise the use of public land for other purposes. This report determined: (1) the extent to which the level of O&G develop. on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Mgmt. (BLM) has changed in recent years, & how the change has affected BLM's ability to mitigate impacts; (2) what policy changes related to O&G develop. BLM recently made & how these policies affected BLM's environ. mitigation activ.; & (3) what challenges BLM faces in managing its O&G program. Ill.