× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

BOISE | The U.S. Bureau of Land Management this week lost a second round of challenges by Western Watersheds Project over nearly 600 grazing allotments across southern Idaho.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill found that the BLM failed to consider stopping grazing in four allotments where critical sage-grouse habitat has degraded over the years. That territory is managed by the agency’s Burley Field Office

Earlier, the court ruled against the BLM in a round of similar challenges in Owyhee County and in Nevada.

“It’s like the BLM doesn’t take this seriously,” said Katie Fite, biodiversity director for the Watersheds group, prompting another round of challenges to grazing permits, this time in Cassia County.

The Hailey-based conservation group, which opposes grazing on public land, is applauding both judgments.

“The Department of Interior should take heed of (this) win and realize that protecting and recovering sage grouse on BLM lands is going to mean doing a lot more than status quo,” the group reported on its website.

The BLM has not yet reviewed the decision in detail, spokeswoman Heather Tiel-Nelson said, but she expects to have more information on it within a week.