Ag groups appeal sage grouse ruling Livestock and farming groups in four Western states are challenging a ruling by a federal judge in Idaho who ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider whether sage grouse deserve federal protections. The government decided against adding the bird to the endangered species list in 2005, a move that allowed ranchers and the oil and gas industry to escape stiff regulations. An environmental group sued in federal court last year to force the Fish and Wildlife Service to revisit its decision on the sage grouse, a chicken-sized bird with long pointed tail feathers. Scientists say the popular game bird is on the decline and the population has plummeted in the face of accelerating oil and gas exploration in the West. West Nile virus, drought and residential development have also taken a toll on the bird. In December, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled in favor of the Western Watersheds Project, saying the federal agency had ignored expert advice and failed to use "best science" in its sage grouse decision. Last week, attorneys with Sacramento, Calif.-based Pacific Legal Foundation appealed that decision in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of ranching, livestock and farming groups in Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming and Nevada. The appeal seeks to overturn the decision on a minor detail, a 60-day notice that attorneys for the Western Watersheds Project failed to file in federal court in advance of their formal lawsuit....