No ESA Listing For Greater Sage-Grouse

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said today that the greater sage grouse does not require protection under the Endangered Species Act.  Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said that thanks to an “unprecedented” conservation effort by “dozens of partners” across the 11-state range of the sage grouse, a listing of threatened or endangered under the ESA is not required.

Environmental groups, such as the Center for Biological Diversity, decried the decision not to list the sage grouse; calling it an “iconic bird of the American west.”  The group seemingly finds fault with any human interaction with the bird or its habitat spanning eleven western states, citing a list of wide-ranging scapegoats, including development, livestock grazing, oil and gas development, and even roads as causes of the sage grouse’s impending doom.

The USFWS News Release can be found HERE.

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