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MURPHY — The Bureau of Land Management will hold two open houses next week on its proposal to remove western juniper from sagebrush-steppe habitat in southwest Idaho to benefit the greater sage grouse.

The BLM is taking public comments on a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Bruneau-Owyhee Sage-Grouse Habitat Project, dubbed BOSH.

The draft analyzes plans to remove Western juniper that is encroaching on about 600,000 acres within a 1.5 million-acre project area of sage grouse habitat in Owyhee County. The project, a collaboration with state and other federal agencies and conservation groups, is part of an effort across the West to to conserve sage grouse habitat on public lands.

In southwestern Idaho, the spread of Western juniper is a primary threat.

“Removing encroaching juniper will improve habitat for sage grouse and other wildlife species, and improve the resiliency of the landscape,” BLM Boise District Manager Lara Douglas said in a release.