Washington, D.C. – Following a New York Times report that the Department of the Interior is moving to unwind the greater sage-grouse conservation plans unveiled in September 2015, League of Conservation Voters Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld issued the following statement:

“On the heels of his outrageous comments questioning the loyalty of Interior Department staff and unprecedented recommendations to roll back protections for treasured public lands and waters, Secretary Zinke is turning his back on a bipartisan, collaborative conservation effort to protect the greater sage-grouse habitat and Western economies. Instead of listening to the governors, local leaders, ranchers and others who worked for years on an unparalleled plan to conserve fragile habitat while meeting the needs of communities, Zinke is looking to sell out the sagebrush to his friends in the fossil fuel industry. This is yet another example of the Trump administration undermining sound management of our public lands.”