[Flycatcher]

Odd as it may sound, this is actually VERY big news in the Great Basin. There's been talk about listing the Greater Sage-Grouse as an endangered species for many years. Happily there seems to be a reluctance on the part of many Govt agencies to take this drastic step. Why? The range of the sage-grouse is large, localized, and fragmented. It is almost logistically impossible to list this bird. It would mean huge and sweeping prohibitions on land use all across the Great Basin, and it would involve many states.

Again, happily, the leftists seem to be listening to the people (and politicians) of this vast region, and are reluctant to list this bird. Let's hope it stays this way.

By the way, as many biologists are pointing out, it isn't man that is threatening the sage-grouse in any real meaningful way. It's an invasive plant: Cheatgrass. Bromus tectorum. Once a sage steppe is burned by natural causes (fire), this invasive grass takes over. Drive I-80 in northern Nevada. It's no longer the beautiful big sagebrush valleys and hills of the past. It's cheatgrass grassland -- and nearly monolithic.

And unuseable for Greater Sage-Grouse.

I don't know what the answer is. As one professional (and state-hired) weed eradicator told me: "Cheatgrass is here to stay."

[SierraWasp]

Another Circular Jerky CONcensus Ping!!!

[george76]

If the UN Agenda 21 eco nuts can force Sage-Grouse as an endangered species - then it will hit over 10 western states.

No ranching , sheep grazing, hunting, recreation...