NY Times Editorial On Sage Grouse

Hemmed in by residential development and the nation’s demand for energy, the number of sage grouse has dropped from 16 million to a few hundred thousand scattered across 11 Western states. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to decide soon whether to place the bird on the endangered species list. The service is unlikely to do so, at least for now. The mandated protections could seriously inhibit coal mining, oil and gas exploration and other businesses vital to Western economies. It also could slow the development of wind power, a resource cherished by conservationists. There is a compromise solution that could give the grouse a fighting chance. And that would be for the service to place the sage grouse high on its list of 270 or so “candidate species.” That acknowledges that the species is in trouble, asks federal and state land management agencies to work harder to protect the bird’s habitat, and holds out the promise — or threat — of more stringent protections if these agencies fail to do so...read more