The current mess we are in with greater sage grouse is just history repeating itself.

We have been here before, and we have made these mistakes — mistakes that have cost sportsmen and sportswomen of this country billions to try to repair the damage. Damage that could have been avoided in the first place.

We know this. It is why hunters, energy companies, state and federal wildlife agencies, ranchers and many others worked so hard on the sage grouse conservation plans across the West. Plans with strong bipartisan support to conserve a bird that is considered warranted to be listed as threatened on the Endangered Species list. These plans are the thing that has avoided a need for a listing while still accommodating multiple uses of our public lands and providing for the West’s economy.

Not everyone agrees with the plan. Lawsuits have been filed. Lobbying of the current administration has led to new rhetoric and new problems. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wants to review this effort, based on not everyone being at the table. Many involved with this process are wondering, “Who was not at the table?” Maybe Zinke should have said that certain people at the table did not get everything they wanted. What they did get was a new administration to lobby.