USFWS again rejects protections for Mono Basin sage grouse

[NVMojo]

RENO, Nev. (AP) - For the second time in three years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday rejected efforts by environmental groups to impose Endangered Species Act protections for a population of sage grouse found along the Nevada-California line.

The petitions for the Mono Basin sage grouse did not contain "substantial scientific or commercial information" to continue with an in-depth analysis to determine if such protections are warranted, the agency said in an initial finding published in Tuesday's Federal Register.

Environmental groups responded swiftly, saying lawsuits would follow.

"They have just bought themselves a one-way ticket back to court," said Kieran Suckling, policy director for the Center of Biological Diversity in Tucson, Ariz.

Still, conservation groups were encouraged by the agency's acknowledgment that the population found along the Sierra range is genetically unique from greater sage grouse populations around the West.

"There is substantial information indicating that Mono Basin area sage grouse are genetically distinct from other greater sage grouse populations," the published finding said, though one Fish and Wildlife official in Reno said the comment is misleading.

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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/dec/19/121910055.html