Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Gunnison Basin Sage-Grouse Strategic Committee: A Colorado County’S Fight For Conservation Self-Determination, James Cochran, Jonathan Houck, Greg Peterson

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Since 1995, sage-grouse (Centrocercus spp.) conservation planning in the western United States has largely been based upon local working groups comprised of federal, state and local governments, environmental groups, landowners, interested citizens. In this article, we review the history and process of these local working groups in western Colorado. These groups are generally convened by one or more government agencies, operate on the general principle of consensus, and have little or no administrative or financial support. The local working groups were generally comprised of field biologist, rancher/landowners, members of local environmental groups and occasionally representatives from local governments. The …