Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s decision to roll back critical protections for sage grouse habitat across Western states.
“The Administration’s sage grouse plan ignores decades of collaborative negotiations between the federal government and western state stakeholders. The Department of the Interior has decided to put the interests of the oil and gas industry ahead of the best interests of Nevadans. This new plan undermines the delicate balance Western states had struck to ensure the protection of sage grouse populations and strengthen economic development across the western United States. Instead of unilaterally forcing the implementation of this new plan, the Administration should’ve engaged more closely with stakeholders and heard from Nevadans on the ground as well as local governments, conservation groups, ranchers and industry leaders that already put in the hard work to craft a plan that respects the rights of western states.”
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