Romney Joins Effort to Prohibit ESA Sage-Grouse Listing  

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today joined Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), members of the Senate Western Caucus, in a letter to Senate leadership urging the continued Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing prohibition for the greater sage-grouse.

“Each of the eleven western states which hold sage-grouse habitat have adopted their own collaborative, science-based conservation plans, tailored specifically to address localized landscape needs and recover the species,” the letter read in part. “[D]espite this transparent and scientific approach, the greater sage-grouse has constantly been the subject of continuous litigation and baseless, counterproductive listing petitions for years.”

The State of Utah has made excellent progress in enhancing and developing sage-grouse habitat. However, without an ESA listing prohibition, greater sage-grouse remain subject to a cycle of activist litigation that costs taxpayers and undermines states’ conservation efforts. In an effort to combat this, a listing prohibition has been included in every annual appropriations bill since fiscal year 2015 to allow state conservation efforts to proceed.

The letter was also signed by Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), John Hoeven (R-ND), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Mike Lee (R-UT). Text of the letter is available here.