Billings, Mont. • A U.S. judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from easing rules on mining, drilling and grazing across millions of acres in seven Western states, saying such activities left unchecked were likely to harm a struggling bird species.
The ground-dwelling greater sage grouse is at the center of a bitter conflict between the administration and conservationists involving how much of the West's expansive public lands should be opened to development.
The temporary restraining order issued Wednesday by a judge in Boise, Idaho, means the administration for now must fall back to more stringent rules adopted under former President Barack Obama.