Millions of acres across public lands in the U.S. West could be rendered off-limits for mining claims by the federal government in order to protect a chicken-like bird known as the greater sage-grouse.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, said Aug. 17 that it would consider whether to impose a mineral withdrawal covering about 10 million acres in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming to support the sage-grouse, an imperiled bird species whose range spreads across 173 million acres of the U.S. West. The bird, best known for a mating ritual that involves inflating sacs on its chest, is known to live on areas sought after for mining and fossil fuel development.

The 20-year mineral withdrawal for the sage-grouse was initially proposed under President Barack Obama in 2016. It was then canceled under President Donald Trump, but a federal judge ruled in February that the government needed to reconsider the ban because the Trump administration had not adequately considered how new mining projects would impact the bird species.

If the withdrawal had not been enacted in 2016, up to 26 mines and 114 exploration projects would have been established within the area over its 20-year duration, according to a BLM estimate.

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The full withdrawal would specifically include more than 300 acres planned for Lithium Americas Corp.'s Lithium Nevada lithium project in Nevada. Lithium Americas supports the Biden administration's "stated objective" to use "the best-available science" when deciding whether to impose the withdrawal, spokesperson Tim Crowley stated in an Aug. 17 statement to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"On-the-ground analysis of withdrawal impacts, including consideration of mineral potential, is essential for allowing meaningful projects to proceed while protecting critical sage-grouse habitat," Crowley stated.

The withdrawal will not block mines that are already permitted but will restrain against new mining claims, Michael Saul, an attorney with environmental group Center for Biological Diversity, told Market Intelligence.

It remains to be seen if the Biden administration will implement what was proposed under Obama, Saul said. "At this point, they're just announcing whether they're going to look at whether they should reconsider having all kinds of sage-grouse habitat open to new claims," the attorney said.

BLM stated it would shortly release an updated environmental impact statement scrutinizing the impacts of protecting the bird across the acreage suggested under Obama and would open the public comment period for the document.

The agency will also reinitiate consultation with tribes regarding the withdrawal.

Other environmentalists are optimistic about BLM acting in their favor, given the Biden administration's goal of conserving 30% of natural U.S. lands and waters by 2030.

"This is a really big deal. We look forward to urging the Interior Secretary to follow through on withdrawing the 10 million acres," Earthworks senior policy counsel Aaron Mintzes said in an interview.

The mining industry, meanwhile, is opposed to the withdrawal. The National Mining Association, a D.C.-based mining trade group, will be an "active participant in this process" and looks "forward to engaging with the federal, state and local authorities throughout this process to prevent unnecessary land withdrawals that would further obstruct responsible domestic mining," association spokesperson Conor Bernstein said in a statement.