Environmental Group to Use Sage Grouse Ruling as Lever

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A small portion of a federal judge's ruling in Idaho against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management concerning grazing permits in sage grouse habitat is being eyed as a potential lever by environmental groups considering similar lawsuits in other states.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill used three pages near the end of his 21-page decision late last month to rule the BLM incorrectly used a congressional budget rider to issue grazing permits with no environmental analysis.

Western Watersheds Project brought the lawsuit and says the BLM has used the rider for decades to issue hundreds of permits throughout the West.The BLM says it's analyzing how the ruling will affect it's grazing permit renewal process.