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rlLED.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COUrJ

-m liPR -5 Pli - 00

FOR THE DISTRICT OF WYOMING ■ - ' -G-.*-5wl US'»

UPPER GREEN RIVER ALLIANCE,

WESTERN WATERSHEDS PROJECT,

and CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL

DIVERSITY,

Petitioners,

vs.

UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LAND

MANAGEMENT and WILLIAM PERRY

PENDLEY, in his official capacity as

Deputy Director of the U.S. Bureau of

Land Management,

Respondents,

Case No. 2:19-CV-I46-SWS

and

JONAH ENERGY, LLC and STATE OF

WYOMING

Respondent-Intervenors.

ORDER UPHOLDING AGENCY ACTION

This matter is before the Court under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), 5

U.S.C. § 706, to review the Bureau of Land Management's approval of the Normally

Pressured Lance Project ("NPL Project"). Respondent Jonah Energy proposed the NPL

Project to extract natural gas resources on the sage-brush scrublands in northwest

Wyoming. Petitioners contend the BLM acted arbitrarily and capriciously in approving the

Case 2:19-cv-00146-SWS Document 63 Filed 04/05/22 Page 1 of 47

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grows higher than the snow and even though the WCAs are outside of primary sage grouse

habitat, these areas are "important to maintaining sustainable Sage-Grouse populations."

(BLM128628.) Any type of surface disturbance in WCAs is prohibited during the winter

to protect the habitat for the sage grouse. (Wyoming Executive Order 2015-4 at 6-7.)

Sage grouse are sensitive to human activities, including oil and gas development.

Sage grouse avoid wintering anywhere within 1.18 miles (1900 meters) of such activities.

(BLM077925.) The greater the well pad density in an area, the less likely sage grouse will

use that habitat during winter. {See generally BLM017143.) This avoidance could further

decrease the Wyoming sage grouse population. (BLM 072677; see also BLM017105.)

Decline in the sage grouse population over the past century has sparked national

conversations about protecting the species. In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

listed the greater sage grouse as "warranted, but precluded" in favor of higher priority

species. 75 F. Reg. 13,910 (March 23, 2010). The primary threats to sage grouse were

habitat loss and fragmentation, which were exacerbated by the lack of regulation to protect

sage grouse. Id. In response to the "warranted, but precluded" designation, the BLM

released a finalized list of amendments (2015 Wyoming Sage-Grouse Resource

Management Plan Amendments) to protect sage grouse habitat. (BLM139375;

BLM139384.)

The 2015 Wyoming Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plan Amendments

("RMP") designated "priority" and "general" habitat management plans for sage grouse,

including additional protective measures. (BLM139457; BLM139469.) A priority habitat

management area ("PHMA") is one with the "highest conservation value to maintaining or

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