Groups of environmental advocates filed a class-suit before the Court of Idaho to force the administration in implementing more restrictions on oil and gas drilling, grazing and other activities that caused the decline of greater sage grouse across the American West.
Plaintiffs WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds and Prairie Hills Audubon Society were seeking more protection for the greater sage grouse, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to list as an endangered species in a decision made last September.
However, the Fish and Wildlife Service contended that the existing conservation measures were enough to project such critical habitat.
Wildlife biologist Erik Molvar said that the Bureau of Land Management collected a lot of good science on how to save sage grouse but they did not all make it into the plans.
He said, "We're simply trying to pluck out the rotten apples and fix the wheels so it rolls properly."
Essentially, we want to keep the plans in place but we want to make sure that the protections measures that apply, particularly to those priority habitats where the sage grouse are most concentrated, are adequate based on the science."
Jessica Kershaw, Interior Department spokesperson, refused to drop arguments on the lawsuit, but she said the government's conservation plans follow the best science and were crafted in partnership with state and local officials.
"The plans are both balanced and effective, protecting key sage-grouse habitat and providing for sustainable development," Kershaw said.
Meanwhile, Mark Bennett, a Baker County commissioner who has been representing the Baker County officials, will be watching closely the progress of a lawsuit filed on Thursday, claiming that the federal government isn't doing enough to protect sage grouse from livestock grazing and other uses of public land.
Chris Christensen, president of the Malheur County Cattlemen's Association, said that there are existing mechanisms the government are doing.
"We're doing plenty. We don't need any more restrictions," she added,
She emphasized that the decision not to list the bird as endangered is a proof that ranching and farming community is doing their part to protect the habitat.
Mark Bennett, a Baker County commissioner who has been advocating for the protection the sage grouse issue for many years, said that he did know where the class-suit will lead. There are lots of loopholes and uncertainties in the case.
"We don't know where this will lead, and that causes a lot of uncertainties for Baker County," he said.
Bennett added his primary concern that a judge ruling on the lawsuit should require the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service to impose more strict regulations on how public land is used - in particular livestock grazing.
Environmental groups have been advocating for formal protection for the sage grouse for more than a decade.
The grouse population was estimated at 16 million birds across North America. It's lost roughly half its habitat to development, livestock grazing and an invasive grass that encourages wildfires in the Great Basin of Nevada and adjoining states. There are now an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 greater sage grouse.
