The battle over the sage grouse continues.
The National Mining Association, a group representing mining companies, is protesting the federal government’s plan to protect the sage grouse.
Specifically, the group does not want the Bureau Of Land Management to protect the bird on land that can be mined for gold and minerals.
"I think our major concern is the proposed withdrawal of 10 million acres of land from mining operations," said Katie Sweeney, senior Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, National Mining Association. "Our concern there is a lot of that area is of high mineral potential and we would be putting it off limits perhaps permanently, when mining has not been identified by the Department of the Interior as a major threat to the sage grouse."
Sweeney said that mining actually improves the habitat for sage grouse because of reclamation efforts done after a mining operation is finished.
She also said the environmental studies that must be done before mining can begin will help protect the birds.
"Those do include looking at potential impacts on endangered species and how those can be minimized," she said.
According to Sweeney, the mining companies are concerned about making sure their operations do not have a permanent impact on the land and the species that live there.
She pointed out that "half of the mineral state is already off limits to mining" because those places have been determined to be "special" and in need of protection; however, she added, "we need to be very, very tempered about moving forward with additional major withdrawals like 10 million acres."
Katie Sweeney, Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, National Mining Association
