BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has overturned a Trump administration action that allowed mining and other development on 10 million acres in parts of western states that are considered important for the survival of a struggling bird species.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill said in Thursday's ruling that the decision under Trump to cancel a prior effort to ban mining failed to fully consider how the move would affect greater sage grouse.
The wide-ranging, chicken-sized bird has seen a dramatic population drop in recent decades. Winmill says the U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management must reconsider whether mining should be allowed.