DENVER — As the comment period closes today on the move to overhaul the U.S. Forest Service sage-grouse conservation plans, Americans of all stripes continue to say these plans need to be given a chance to work.

Tracy Stone-Manning, the National Wildlife Federation’s associate vice president for public lands, said: 

“Americans got another chance to weigh in on this administration’s attempt to overhaul sage-grouse conservation plans – plans that were developed by Westerners, including sportsmen and women, ranchers, small business owners, oil and gas industry, local and state governments. This unprecedented collaborative effort was driven by efforts to keep an iconic Western species off the endangered species list and lay out a path to recover the sage-grouse and its habitat. More than 260,000 Americans submitted comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s sage-grouse plans and the public is now telling the Forest Service the same thing – give these plans a chance to work.”

Kate Zimmerman, the National Wildlife Federation’s policy director for public lands, said:

“The sage-grouse plans are not only about the bird. These plans would also benefit 350 species of animals and plants across sagebrush country, including mule deer, elk, golden eagles and burrowing owls. The sage-grouse conservation plans are the best tool that we have to improve habitat for some of these signature Western species. The Forest Service and other federal agencies must not ignore the hard work of the Westerners who crafted these plans  or the hundreds of thousands of Americans who want to keep these plans intact.”

Read a recent entry on the greater sage-grouse issue at the National Wildlife Federation’s blog.