Congressman John T. Salazar yesterday added his voice to the chorus of those calling on the Bureau of Land Management to stop offering oil and gas leases in habitat for the highly imperiled Gunnison sage grouse.  Expressing "surprise" that the BLM has offered parcels containing "mapped Gunnison sage grouse habitat" for lease in its upcoming November 9 sale, the Congressman called on the BLM to withdraw those parcels and "institute a clear policy in the future to not offer for lease any occupied Gunnison Sage Grouse habitat."

In a letter to BLM State Director Sally Wisely, Congressman Salazar said he found out about the parcels in the upcoming sale from San Miguel County officials, who are involved in local efforts to conserve the bird.  Salazar wrote:

"All government agencies from the local to the federal level should be working in a cooperative effort to make sure that Gunnison Sage Grouse populations increase. Counties such as San Miguel and Gunnison are working hard and devoting many resources, including financial, to ensure we as a community can conserve the Gunnison Sage Grouse through cooperative efforts. When local counties are struggling to fund and lead conservation efforts the federal government should be working to complement their efforts."

San Miguel County recently joined Center for Native Ecosystems and others in warning the federal government that they planned to sue over the illegal decision in April to remove the Gunnison sage grouse from the Endangered Species Act candidate list.  This is one of several recent Fish and Wildlife Service decisions that were tampered with by political appointee Julie MacDonald, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  In the case of the Gunnison sage grouse, it appears from internal agency documents that MacDonald fully reversed the recommendation of agency biologists to propose the Gunnison sage grouse for protection as an endangered species.

Given the congressman's  recent disparaging remarks on the Endangered Species Act during a candidate debate, his support of local efforts to conserve such a highly imperiled species is a welcome public stance in favor of conservation.