Court Asked to Expand Oil, Gas Limits Beyond Sage-Grouse Turf

An Idaho federal court should expand its decision barring the Trump administration from streamlining the process for oil and gas leases to areas outside of sage-grouse territory, environmental groups said.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho was wrong to limit its February ruling on the Bureau of Land Management’s policy to sage-grouse habitat, the Western Watersheds Project and Center for Biological Diversity say in their motion for reconsideration.

The bureau has until April 7 to respond.

Not only will the geographically limited ruling allow the bureau to continue applying the unlawful policy in oil and gas lease ...