Though its habitat is vast, the number of grouse, known for their elaborate mating dance, had fallen to between 200,000 and 500,000 by 2010 from the millions historically, and its territory has shrunk due to development, according to the government.Īs the listing deadline nears, it is becoming the focus of an effort in the Republican-controlled U.S. 30 whether to protect the sage grouse - which roams wind-swept grasslands spanning 11 Western U.S. The federal government must decide by Sept. Many of the new listings achieved by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and WildEarth Guardians have been for relatively obscure species, such as snails and fish with compact habitats.īut their effort to protect a wide-ranging bird called greater sage grouse has now sparked a backlash from critics who say the Endangered Species Act is being manipulated and abused by environmentalists through aggressive legal actions and closed-door settlements. REUTERS/Bob Wick/BLM/Handout via ReutersĪ Reuters review of hundreds of federal records over a 10-year period shows how the non-profit groups have had success by inundating Washington with petitions for new protected-species listings and lawsuits designed to compel regulators to respond. A looming wildlife protection fight over the Greater Sage Grouse highlights how two environmental groups have increasingly dominated the process of species protection, sparking a backlash from pro-business Republicans. Bureau of Land Management photo shows a sage grouse in this undated photo.
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