US rejects protections for greater sage grouse across West
Source: Associated Press via Casper WY Star-Tribune
1 hour ago • By MATTHEW BROWN and MEAD GRUVER Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Interior Department said Tuesday that the greater sage grouse, a ground-dwelling bird whose vast range spans 11 Western states, does not need federal protections following a costly effort to reverse the species' decline without reshaping the region's economy.
The fight over whether to list the bird as endangered or threatened recalled the battle over the spotted owl 25 years ago, where federal protection greatly impeded the logging economy. The Obama administration and affected states have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to saving the species without Endangered Species Act protections that many argued would threaten the oil and gas industry and agriculture.
Tuesday's announcement signaled that the Obama administration believes it has struck a delicate balance to save the birds from extinction without crippling the West's economy. It also could help defuse a potential political liability for Democrats heading into the 2016 election; federal protections could have brought much more sweeping restrictions on oil and gas drilling, grazing and other human activities from California to the Dakotas.
An aide to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the administration is providing grouse habitat protections on 67 million acres of federal lands, including 12 million acres where strict limits on oil and gas limits will be enforced.
Read more: http://trib.com/lifestyles/recreation/us-rejects-protections-for-greater-sage-grouse-across-west/article_e2077c19-18de-57a9-b3ed-4e30fe7d4337.html
What is a sage grouse and why is the bird imperiled?
Craig Miller
Sage grouse populations have declined across the West over the last several decades. A decision about whether to list the bird as threatened or endangered is expected before the end of the month. Craig Miller got this shot of a fighting male while shooting photos at a lek in southern Phillips County in March.
7 hours ago • Associated Press
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Interior Department will announce new efforts Tuesday to conserve the greater sage grouse, a chicken-sized bird of the sagebrush that ranges from California to the Dakotas.
The implications for oil and gas drilling, renewable energy development and cattle grazing could be huge: The bird ranges across all or part of 11 states.
Here are some questions and answers about the sage grouse:
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