Sales of leases on 8.1 million acres of federal oil and gas parcels — an area larger than Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined — are on hold because of worries that drilling could harm greater sage grouse, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s delay on the parcels underscores just how much is at stake for an industry that finds its future inextricably intertwined with a bird once known primarily for its elaborate mating display.

The grouse’s huge range, covering portions of 11 states and an area more than four times as big as New England, includes vast oil, gas and coal reserves and the best type of windy, open country for developing wind power.

“We’re not real happy about it. It’s not even an endangered species,” said Rick Bailey, who runs an oil and gas lease brokerage, Nevada Leasing Services. He said he’s had hundreds of thousands of acres of potential leases put on hold.

MORE>>>Flathead Beacon

Kyle Ploehn is an artist, illustrator and writer living in Billings Montana. He likes to spend the few hours he isn't painting hiking the mountains of Montana.

When I moved from Billings to Seattle for school, one of the things that made me most homesick was the complete and utter lack of a Montanan winter season. It got gloomy and dark, but it never got cold and no snow fell. Winter had always been the herald for the cozy holiday season I adored spending in the mountains of the Little Snowies. Silent forests blanketed in thick muted white had been the backdrop to fire warmed cabins and endless hours of art my entire childhood. Upon returning to Montana, winter became a lost favorite season I greeted with open arms. Riders on the Storm was painted with the first major snow fall of the season as I watched the autumn colors blaze one final time before the winter swallowed them. I wanted to capture the melding of the seasons, while the last leaves still waver on the branches, but the storm above threatened and the glow of new snow fall makes the night sky orange. So the idea of horses driving at the edge of the season bringing the winter, but still being of fall, captured my interest and I began to do studies to compete with the impression I felt at the change of seasons. While winter is a silent and cozy time of holiday and family, it is also wild and beautiful.

The original is available for $1,200.

Prints are available. Contact me at [email protected], if you're interested in purchasing a print. Or stop by my website at http://kyleploehnart.com