The sage grouse might not be listed as an endangered species after all

Western governors expressed some optimism on Sunday that the federal Fish and Wildlife Service might decide against including a rare bird on the Endangered Species List after years of work aimed at protecting millions of acres of habitat. In a meeting Sunday with governors representing Western states, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell was “guardedly optimistic,” according to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), that plans developed and implemented by several states will keep the sage grouse off the ESA. “She expressed to me optimism that they were going to be able to avoid listing” the sage grouse, Hickenlooper said in an interview at the annual meeting of the National Governors Association. “There’s still a lot of work to be done, both with her staff and the states,” Hickenlooper added. “We’re making clear progress.” The grouse’s natural range extends over 165 million acres covering nine states west of the Rocky Mountains, as well as North and South Dakota. Some estimates place the total economic impact of a decision to list the grouse — and thus shut off its habitat from future development — in the billions of dollars. One widely-cited study suggested that such a decision could cost as much as 31,000 jobs. To prevent a listing, Western states have established individual plans aimed at preserving habitat, which they hope will convince the federal government not to list the grouse under the Endangered Species Act. Though governors say they have worked well with the Department of the Interior and other federal agencies, some express skepticism that the grouse is really at the heart of environmentalists’ concerns. “They want to use that as a tool to stop energy development — coal extraction or natural gas or oil drilling. I think that’s just the political reality out there in the marketplace,” Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) said in an interview broadcast this weekend on C-SPAN. “I’m a little concerned about a species that’s prolific in nine states that people are somehow saying is endangered. That’s a little bit odd.”...more