In the Rockies today, sage grouse concerns may lead to new restrictions on energy development in a Wyoming basin.
The Bureau of Land Management hasn't yet released a detailed map of just where drilling operations in Wyoming's Powder River Basin may be curtailed beginning this summer, but the agency's meeting with coalbed methane operators and landowners Wednesday was decidedly hostile.
Voluntary efforts to protect the sage grouse in the basin haven't worked, pushing federal land management agencies to develop an amendment to its existing resource plan.
The process is expected to take about two years, during which the BLM can't allow activities that may compromise land-use strategies that may be developed during the amendment process.
While energy operations are predicted to be the most affected by the process, land managers said grazing and recreation could also be impacted.
