Last month, TENTHMIL reported on Wyoming conservationists’ efforts to gain endangered species listing for the sage grouse, a bird that dwells in the arid rangelands of 11 western states and 2 Canadian provinces. 

(Photo:  U.S. Geological Survey.)

The decision has come down:  no, with a touch of maybe. 

March 5, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar backed up the conclusion of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the sage grouse is “warranted but precluded” as endangered. 

USFWS said,

the greater sage-grouse warrants the protection of the Endangered Species Act but that listing the species at this time is precluded by the need to address higher priority species first.

Sage grouse will be put on the ESA candidate list, but the primary responsibility for its management will continue to reside with the states.

The Department of the Interior has pledged to step up its work with state agencies to identify and map the bird’s critical habitat areas, so that “common-sense efforts” can be made to conserve them.

(Image:  Dr. M. Schroeder, Washington Department of Wildlife)

Western Watersheds Project claims that sage grouse population has declined 93% from what it once was.  Salazar also acknowledged the role of human populations in this decline, saying,

The sage-grouse’s decline reflects the extent to which open land in the West has been developed in the last century.

What’s more, the sage grouse is very sensitive to changes in its habitat.  It’s an “indicator species,” an alarm bell for its entire native ecosystem.  And Interior says that, as early as 2040, some select populations could face extinction.

(Sagebrush habitat, fragmented by human infrastructure.  Photo:  Johnny Kilroy.)

The sage grouse will be reevaluated each year by USFWS, along with other ESA “candidates,” to determine its priority level for receiving full protection.  That could take a while.

It’s like waiting in line for state health care, or waiting on death row, depending on how you look at it.

On a brighter note, 12 March 2010, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service did announce that it would provide $16 million for sage grouse habitat improvements in 11 states.  This money will go toward reducing disease, eliminating invasive species, and facilitating the bird’s mobility amidst human infrastructure.