[ODFW-News] Comments sought on draft sage-grouse plan

[ODFW News]

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 	
Contacts: Information and Education 503-947-6002
Internet: www.dfw.state.or.us  Fax: (503) 947-6009	
	

For Immediate Release	Monday, Jan. 3, 2005

Comments sought on draft sage-grouse plan

SALEM - The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife today announced the
release of a draft plan for managing greater sage-grouse in Oregon. 
After final revision and adoption, the plan will guide future management
of the state's sage-grouse and sagebrush habitat. 

Several public meetings were held in eastern Oregon last August to
discuss the development of a conservation assessment and strategy for
sage-grouse and sagebrush habitat.  Public comments from the Oregon
meetings were used to help develop the draft plan. The meetings were
coordinated by ODFW, the Bureau of Land Management and the U. S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.  "In addition, this plan was written with
guidance from the Oregon Sage-grouse Conservation Planning Team, which
includes representatives from both the public and private sectors,"
said Christian Hagen, ODFW biologist and lead author of the draft plan.

Interested individuals can view the draft plan on the agency Web site
at www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/InfoCntrWild/sage-grouse.pdf or send a
request for a copy to Wildlife Division, ODFW,  3406 Cherry Avenue NE,
Salem, OR  97303. Written comments on the plan can be mailed to the same
address or e-mailed by March 1, 2005, to sagegrouse at state.or.us. 

In addition, ODFW will be hosting several public meetings in late
January and February seeking comment on the draft plan. The locations
and times of the meetings have not been confirmed but will be announced
soon.

An informational briefing on the draft plan will be presented to the
Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission at their April 15, 2005, meeting in
Salem. After considering public comment, a revised draft plan is
scheduled to be presented to the Commission on May 13, 2005, in
Prineville and proposed for adoption.

Sage-grouse occur in 11 western states and two Canadian provinces.
Similar sage-grouse conservation planning efforts are being conducted in
other western states, and Oregon's plan will be aligned with those
efforts to create a range-wide plan.  Oregon contains 18 million acres
of sagebrush habitat and about 20 percent of the current sage-grouse
range in the United States.

Environmental organizations petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to list sage-grouse range-wide for protection under the Federal
Endangered Species Act.  The petitions cited declines in sage-grouse
populations across the birds' historic range as the reason for
listing.  The Fish and Wildlife Service announced Dec. 3 that their
senior biologists recommended sage-grouse not be listed for protection
at this time. Federal officials have not yet made a final listing
decision, however.


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