Oh no!


Tyler L. Hicks


Ph.D. Student
Washington State University Vancouver

E-mail: tyler_hicks at wsu.edu
Web Page: http://thingswithwings.org

"We were certainly uncertain. At least, I'm pretty sure I am." - Modest Mouse




> Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2010 13:18:38 -0500
> From: ellen.paul at VERIZON.NET
> Subject: Greater Sage-Grouse decision from Dept. of the Interior
> To: ORNITH-L at SI-LISTSERV.SI.EDU
>
> Let the lawsuits begin....
>
>
>
> The Interior Department announced Friday that it won't list sage grouse
> as endangered or threatened but will classify the bird among species
> that are candidates for federal protection.
>
> By MEAD GRUVER
>
> Associated Press Writer
> CHEYENNE, Wyo. ?
>
> The Interior Department announced Friday that it won't list sage grouse
> as endangered or threatened but will classify the bird among species
> that are candidates for federal protection.
>
> The finding is good news for the wind energy and oil and gas industries,
> which will still face scrutiny in grouse habitat but will have more
> leeway than if the bird were listed.
>
> Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a news release that listing is
> warranted but precluded by higher priorities - other species that are in
> greater danger.
>
> The finding validates years of effort by some Western states to map the
> birds' sagebrush habitat and take other steps to prevent a sage grouse
> listing.
>
> A chicken-sized, brown bird, sage grouse inhabit about half of their
> historical range. The bird inhabits large portions of Wyoming, Nevada,
> Montana, Oregon and Idaho, and smaller areas of Colorado, Utah,
> California, Washington, South Dakota, North Dakota and western Canada.
>
> Especially in Wyoming, large areas of sage grouse habitat also are prime
> spots for natural gas development that has boomed in recent years. In
> Nevada, the birds are challenged by an invasive species, cheatgrass,
> which is prone to frequent wildfires that burn up native sagebrush.
>
> "The sage grouse's decline reflects the extent to which open land in the
> West has been developed in the last century," Salazar said in a release.
> "This development has provided important benefits, but we must find
> common sense ways of protecting, restoring, and reconnecting the Western
> lands that are most important to the species' survival."
>
> Voluntary conservation combined with federal funding and technical help
> can help those efforts, he said.
>
> The sage grouse finding results from a lawsuit filed in 2006 by an Idaho
> group, Western Watersheds Project. A federal judge in Boise, Idaho,
> ruled in 2007 that political pressure tainted an earlier decision not to
> list the sage grouse.
>
> --
> Ellen Paul
> Executive Director
> The Ornithological Council
> Email: ellen.paul at verizon.net
> "Providing Scientific Information about Birds"
> http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET"

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