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.

For this to work, it will require good-faith efforts from the states and federal agencies. Gov. Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming — more than half the remaining grouse population is there — has designated “core areas” for the sage grouse, restricting development. These could be expanded. The Bureau of Land Management, which governs development, has altered its plan to allow only one well pad per square mile in Wyoming. It is studying the impact of drilling and wind power on the grouse.

These are useful first steps. But in a landscape already full of threats to the grouse, including grazing, a lot more will be needed to ensure the bird’s survival at robust levels.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/opinion/03wed4.html?pagewanted=print

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