Federal judge tosses oil leases on sage grouse habitat

A federal judge in Montana ruled that oil leases sold in sage grouse habitat between 2019 and 2020 violated the Federal Land Policy and Management Act by failing to follow prioritization requirements set in 2015 land use plans. Conservation groups argued the Bureau of Land Management’s lease sales in Wyoming and Montana/Dakotas disregarded protections for sage grouse, a decision upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court.