Wyoming’s Red Desert, a large ecosystem spread through much of the state’s central and southwestern lands, appeared undisturbed on a warm mid-September day, just the way sage grouse like it.

“This landscape is extremely important for sage grouse,” said Tom Christiansen, a former sage grouse coordinator with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, as he stepped to the precipice of a bluff overlooking the area’s “Golden Triangle”—so christened by Christiansen for its tremendous value to wildlife. Many of the folks assembled around him believe that critical habitat faces new threats from resource extraction.

On Oct. 1, the Trump administration announced it was amending the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan , which governs large portions of the Red Desert. Many environmentalists fear the u

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