ID SCR125

Legislature endorses Governor Otter's establishment of a Governor's Task Force on Idaho Sage-Grouse to develop a science-based conservation plan by September 30, 2015, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reevaluate the species' listing status.

Task force plan must be biologically-driven, legally defensible, and politically palatable while exempting Idaho from Bureau of Land Management guidance compliance and precluding federal listing under the Endangered Species Act.

Governor must report to the Senate Pro Tempore and House Speaker upon plan completion and provide progress updates to the 1st Regular Session of the 62nd Idaho Legislature.

Legislature encourages coordinated involvement of state agencies including Idaho Department of Fish and Game, State Department of Agriculture, Department of Lands, Department of Parks and Recreation, Office of Energy Resources, and Office of Species Conservation.

Legislature requests Governor consider using the state's Constitutional Defense Fund and directs Attorney General Lawrence Wasden to vigorously defend Idaho's interests by actively intervening in federal litigation affecting sage-grouse management.