Federal agencies cut deal to help Western landowners protect sage grouse

Farmers and ranchers in Oregon, Washington and nine other western states can help protect both their operations and sage grouse thanks to an agreement between two federal agencies. The agreement announced today by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar involves the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service and Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service. The agencies will work together to help landowners protect the sage grouse and its habitat. USDA will provide up to $16 million this fiscal year to improve habitat and reduce threats to the birds, including threats from disease and invasive species. In return, the landowners will be in better position to avoid potentially stifling regulations if the bird is judged endangered. Last month, the Obama administration said the Greater sage grouse deserves to be added to the federal list of threatened and endangered species — but won’t be because of a backlog of imperiled species...more

This is the way all endangered species should be handled. If its in the public interest to protect these plants and animals, then the public should should pay the cost of doing so, not the individual property owner.