Trump’s White House is seeking to ease restrictions on oil and gas leasing across large swaths of the American West, initially enacted to protect the greater sage grouse in 2015.

Interior Department officials say the revision to the 2015 policies aims to increase flexibility on the public lands where the birds reside, not to undo the protections altogether. Colorado’s Governor, representing a state directly affected by the rollback of the regulations, voiced support for the rollback, saying it allows for more state-focused approaches to the oil and gas industry.

The proposal will affect conservation plans for grouse populations in Nevada and California, among other states. The changes will be largely technical in nature, and could open some areas previously closed to oil and gas leases by allowing waivers or exceptions to rules prohibiting drilling pads and wells in certain areas.

The Western Energy Alliance also voiced support for the rollback, but environmental groups have filed two lawsuits in federal court alleging that prior to the rollback efforts the administration has sold energy leases on hundreds of thousands of acres in violation of the 2015 plans.

If allowed to move forward, the proposed changes are expected to be finalized in October 2018.

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