The Bureau of Land Management is considering withdrawing almost 10 million acres of land from six western states to protect the sage grouse. A quarter of the land could be withdrawn from Nevada near the Idaho border. About 2 million acres is in Elko County, under one option, and 116,496 acres could be set aside from northern Washoe County. Sen. Dean Heller and Gov. Brian Sandoval both released statements criticizing the action. The Center for Biological Diversity hailed it as a positive step for protecting birds which have seen populations decline substantially over the past several years.