Obama admin. sued by Colo. Gov. Hickenlooper over Gunnison sage grouse

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper made good Friday on his promise to sue the federal government over its hotly contested move to list the Gunnison sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act. The Colorado Attorney General’s office filed a notice of intent to sue with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Fish and Wildlife Service director Daniel M. Ashe, arguing that the agency’s Nov. 12 decision to list the bird as threatened was flawed and failed to appreciate fully the impact of aggressive state and local conservation efforts. “The Service failed to use the best available science in its listing decision,” said the six-page notice by Assistant Attorney General Lisa Reynolds. “The best available scientific data indicates that the species is not warranted for protection under the ESA because the Gunnison basin population, which comprises the vast majority of the species’ individuals and occupied range, is not in danger of extinction now or in the foreseeable future.” Environmental and wildlife groups had blasted the agency’s decision on the Gunnison sage grouse, insisting it didn’t go far enough. Two groups, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Watersheds Project, filed Nov. 20 a notice of intent to sue to compel the Fish and Wildlife Service to list the bird as endangered instead of threatened...more