Every Bug Is Sacred, Every Bug Is Great There used to be a lot more sage grouse in Nevada and our neighboring states to the north and east, 70 years ago. (But not necessarily 170 years ago, interestingly enough.) Then, in the 1960s, those who seek to drive sheep and cattle ranchers off the land got busy, eliminating both ranchers and state predator-control hunters. Populations of coyote, wildcats, crows and ravens skyrocketed. Those animals are predators of the sage grouse – particularly their young and their eggs. Surprise: Sage grouse numbers declined. In 2005, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to recommend the sage grouse for listing as “threatened or endangered,” given that there are still close to 100,000 of them, widely scattered out there. But the Idaho-based radical group known as the Western Watersheds Project sued, arguing that decision was politically motivated. They’re making good headway with U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Boise, Idaho, who has ordered the Fish and Wildlife Service to review its decision. Should the green extremists succeed, public land administrators as well as private developers would have to seek permission from federal biologists, guaranteeing “enough grouse remain and habitat is protected” before they could do … well, anything....