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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal officials have released final plans for one of the largest ever projects to remove juniper trees to protect habitat for imperiled sage grouse that will also benefit cattle ranchers in southwestern Idaho.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management made public earlier this week the 247-page final Environmental Impact Statement for the Bruneau-Owyhee Sage-Grouse Habitat Project.
The agency plans to remove juniper trees from about 1,100 square miles in Owyhee County over about 15 years.
Experts say warmer winters combined with fewer wildfires at higher elevations of sagebrush steppe have allowed junipers to expand into areas once filled with sagebrush and native grasses.
Sage grouse are ground-dwelling birds found in 11 Western states. The chicken-sized birds rely on sagebrush for food and shelter.
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