II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 273 

To provide for the protection and recovery of the greater sage-grouse by 

facilitating State recovery plans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2017 

Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. HATCH, Mr. HELLER, Mr. LEE, Mr. 

DAINES, and Mr. ENZI) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To provide for the protection and recovery of the greater 

sage-grouse by facilitating State recovery plans, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Greater Sage-Grouse 

5 Protection and Recovery Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to facilitate implementation of State man2 agement plans over a period of multiple, consecutive 

3 greater sage-grouse life cycles; and 

4 (2) to demonstrate the efficacy of the State 

5 management plans for the protection and recovery of 

6 the greater sage-grouse. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) FEDERAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

10 PLAN.—The term ‘‘Federal resource management 

11 plan’’ means— 

12 (A) a land use plan prepared by the Bu13 reau of Land Management for public land pur14 suant to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy 

15 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

16 1712); and 

17 (B) a land and resource management plan 

18 prepared by the Forest Service for National 

19 Forest System land pursuant to section 6 of the 

20 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 

21 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 

22 (2) GREATER SAGE-GROUSE.—The term ‘‘great23 er sage-grouse’’ means a sage-grouse of the species 

24 Centrocercus urophasianus. 


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1 (3) STATE MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term 

2 ‘‘State management plan’’ means a State-approved 

3 plan for the protection and recovery of the greater 

4 sage-grouse. 

5 SEC. 4. PROTECTION AND RECOVERY OF GREATER SAGE6 GROUSE. 

7 (a) ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973 FIND8 INGS.— 

9 (1) DELAY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the 

10 Interior may not modify or invalidate the finding of 

11 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

12 Service announced in the proposed rule entitled 

13 ‘‘Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 

14 12-Month Finding on a Petition to List Greater 

15 Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) as an En16 dangered or Threatened Species’’ (80 Fed. Reg. 

17 59858 (October 2, 2015)) during the period begin18 ning on the date of enactment of this Act and end19 ing on September 30, 2027. 

20 (2) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—The delay re21 quired under paragraph (1) is and shall remain ef22 fective without regard to any other statute, regula23 tion, court order, legal settlement, or any other pro24 vision of law or in equity. 


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1 (3) EFFECT ON CONSERVATION STATUS.—The 

2 conservation status of the greater sage-grouse shall 

3 be considered not to warrant listing of the greater 

4 sage-grouse as an endangered species or threatened 

5 species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

6 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) during the period begin7 ning on the date of enactment of this Act and end8 ing on September 30, 2027. 

9 (b) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL LAND MANAGE10 MENT AND STATE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

11 PLANS.— 

12 (1) PROHIBITION ON WITHDRAWAL AND MODI13 FICATION OF FEDERAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

14 PLANS.—On notification by the Governor of a State 

15 with a State management plan, the Secretary of the 

16 Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture may not 

17 make, modify, or extend any withdrawal or amend or 

18 otherwise modify any Federal resource management 

19 plan applicable to Federal land in the State in a 

20 manner inconsistent with the State management 

21 plan for, as specified by the Governor in the notifica22 tion, a period of not fewer than 5 years beginning 

23 on the date of the notification. 

24 (2) RETROACTIVE EFFECT.—In the case of any 

25 State that provides notification under paragraph (1), 


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1 if any withdrawal was made, modified, or extended 

2 or any amendment or modification of a Federal re3 source management plan applicable to Federal land 

4 in the State was issued after June 1, 2014, and the 

5 withdrawal, amendment, or modification altered the 

6 management of the greater sage-grouse or the habi7 tat of the greater sage-grouse— 

8 (A) implementation and operation of the 

9 withdrawal, amendment, or modification shall 

10 be stayed to the extent that the withdrawal, 

11 amendment, or modification is inconsistent with 

12 the State management plan; and 

13 (B) the Federal resource management 

14 plan, as in effect immediately before the with15 drawal, amendment, or modification, shall apply 

16 instead with respect to the management of the 

17 greater sage-grouse and the habitat of the 

18 greater sage-grouse, to the extent consistent 

19 with the State management plan. 

20 (3) DETERMINATION OF INCONSISTENCY.—Any 

21 disagreement regarding whether a withdrawal, 

22 amendment, or other modification of a Federal re23 source management plan is inconsistent with a State 

24 management plan shall be resolved by the Governor 

25 of the affected State. 


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1 (c) RELATION TO NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POL2 ICY ACT OF 1969.—With regard to any major Federal ac3 tion consistent with a State management plan, any find4 ings, analyses, or conclusions regarding the greater sage5 grouse and the habitat of the greater sage-grouse under 

6 section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 

7 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) shall not have a pre8 clusive effect on the approval or implementation of the 

9 major Federal action in that State. 

10 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 

11 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

12 thereafter through 2027, the Secretary of the Interior and 

13 the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly submit to the 

14 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen15 ate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

16 of Representatives a report describing the implementation 

17 by the Secretaries of, and the effectiveness of, systems to 

18 monitor the status of greater sage-grouse on Federal land 

19 under the jurisdiction of the Secretaries. 

20 (e) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other 

21 provision of law (including regulations), this section, in22 cluding any determination made under subsection (b)(3), 

23 shall not be subject to judicial review. 

Æ 


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