WYOMING — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has announced that it is retiring the Sage-Grouse Local Working Groups (LWG) as of Jan. 31, just one month after the Trump administration released a Greater Sage-grouse Resource Management Plan Amendment for Wyoming.

“The LWGs were a direct response to the 2003 Wyoming Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Plan,” the press release states. “The primary role of the groups was to localize sage-grouse conservation strategies focused on improving and maintaining sage-grouse populations and habitats. Providing key local perspectives and insights, the groups were instrumental in implementing crucial sage-grouse conservation plans and funded 377 projects. Through the efforts of these working groups, more than $11 million in sage-grouse focused conservation actions and $68 million in matching funds were secured.”

A WyoFile article describes the groups as being defunded “abruptly” after a 21-year run. Last February, WGFD allocated $295,000 to local sage-grouse working groups.

Sage-grouse habitat has been central to the discussion regarding oil and gas in Wyoming for some time, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sought input for managing their habitat on public lands last September. The current range overlaps heavily with producing oil and gas wells.

Oil and gas wells and sage-grouse habitat overlaid. Map from 2017. Image: Wyoming Oil and Gas Commission

Funding is not completely gone for department projects that specifically benefit the ecosystem, although the funding specific to the LWG is gone. Sage-grouse habitat conservation projects remain a priority in the Statewide Habitat Plan, according to the WGFD statement.

Hannah is a Buckrail Staff Reporter and freelance web developer and designer who has called Jackson home since 2015. When she’s not outside, you can probably find her eating a good meal, playing cribbage, or at one of the local yoga studios. She’s interested in what makes this community tick, both from the individual and collective perspective.