Washington (CNN) The Trump administration moved to amend Obama-era protections on the habitat of the sage grouse bird, potentially opening up vast areas of land in the western United States for oil and gas drilling.

According to The New York Times , the new plan would reduce the bird's habitat to 1.8 million acres, and would make 9 million acres of land available for "drilling, mining and other development."

"The BLM recognizes the authority of the individual states in managing wildlife and that plans at the federal level for managing habitat should not be one-size-fits-all," said Heather Feeney, spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management, in a statement.

Environmental groups were swift to criticize Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the department's proposed changes.

"It's hard to pretend at this point that Zinke is a steward of America's public lands: he acts more like a pillager," said Bobby McEnaney, senior director for the Western Renewable Energy Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

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