Judge Blocks BLM Grazing Plan Cutting Sage Grouse Habitat
A judge ruled the BLM unlawfully cut protections for sage grouse habitat in its 2025 plan.
Why it matters: This ruling impacts counsel managing land use, environmental compliance, and livestock grazing in sensitive ecosystems. It emphasizes agencies must justify policy shifts affecting endangered species and public lands.
- On Sept 9, 2026, Judge Michael Simon found the BLM violated environmental laws in its 2025 land use plan revisions.
- The plan slashed protected sage grouse research area acreage from ~22,000 to about 3,700 acres without adequate explanation.
- The BLM violated both the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
- The court ordered BLM to reopen public comments and clarify changes instead of vacating the plan entirely.
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon invalidated key parts of the Bureau of Land Management's 2025 land use plan for Oregon on September 9, 2026, ruling that the agency violated environmental statutes by failing to adequately explain the reduction of protected acreage within sage grouse research areas.
The original 2015 BLM plan protected approximately 22,000 acres as critical habitat for greater sage grouse conservation and research. The 2025 revision, however, reduced these protections to roughly 3,700 acres.
Judge Simon found the BLM's failure to justify this acreage reduction constituted arbitrary and capricious decision-making under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The plan also fell short of National Environmental Policy Act requirements by not addressing key definitional changes, including terms like "relatively unaltered," "key research natural areas," and "baseline reference area." The judge remarked, "This is the kind of unexplained inconsistency that renders the agency’s decision arbitrary and capricious."
Additionally, Judge Simon ruled the BLM impaired the suitability of wilderness study areas for preservation, a violation of federal land management statutes.
Rather than voiding the entire plan, the court required the BLM to reopen the public comment period and provide a fuller explanation for its revisions.
Environmental groups had challenged the 2025 plan fearing reduced protections would damage sage grouse habitats critical to the species’ survival. This decision reinforces the legal mandate that federal agencies clearly justify significant environmental policy alterations affecting endangered species and public land use.
By the numbers:
- 22,000 acres — original protected sage grouse habitat under 2015 BLM plan
- 3,700 acres — reduced protected habitat in 2025 BLM plan
What's next: The BLM must reopen public comments and better explain its 2025 plan revisions following the court order.