Nothing to Grouse About

The Bureau of Land Management will hold a meeting in Malta on Dec. 16 to gather information on a proposal to withdraw lands from mining development for 20 years to protect sage grouse.

The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. at the Great Northern Hotel. In Montana, most of the federal land meeting the criteria is north of Fort Peck Reservoir in Phillips and Valley counties.

The BLM is also extending the public comment period on the withdrawal proposal until Jan. 15 to allow more time for the public to comment.

The withdrawal proposal is meant to conserve sage grouse and their habitat. As part of the process the lands will first be analyzed to determine if they should be formally withdrawn.

Ongoing or future mineral exploration or extraction operations on valid pre-existing mining claims would not be impacted by the proposal.

MORE>>>Billings Gazette