I think this listing is inevitable. It might prove to be a small scale example of what would happen if Greaters are listed, and may spur more action to keep it from happening.
Oak
Grouse closer to protection
U.S. agency will consider listing bird as endangered
By Theo Stein
Denver Post Staff Writer
Drought, development and other threats have pushed the imperiled Gunnison sage grouse, found only in western Colorado, closer to extinction, a federal agency said.
This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would reconsider granting the bird protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The grouse is currently listed as a "candidate species," which means scientists believe it deserves listing, but the agency has no money to protect it.
Federal biologists upgraded the bird's status this year from a Level 5 candidate species to a Level 2, based on the agency's 11-step threat assessment. That move signaled that the agency will take a hard look at adding the bird to the endangered species list this year, spokeswoman Sharon Rose said Thursday.
It's estimated that only 3,000 grouse remain, with two-thirds calling the Gunnison Valley home.
Recent surveys showed their numbers have declined by 30 percent due to drought and habitat loss, said Western State College professor Jessica Young, the leading grouse expert.
That decline has come despite work by biologists and ranchers to preserve their numbers.
Now, experts fear the arrival of West Nile virus may further dim the Gunnison grouse's prospects.
Meanwhile, the agency said threats to other Rocky Mountain candidate species, including two western Colorado penstemons, a flower, and a Montana fish species, the Arctic grayling, have increased.
The mountain plover was removed this year from the candidate list after a study found the bird could coexist with agriculture.
Oak
Grouse closer to protection
U.S. agency will consider listing bird as endangered
By Theo Stein
Denver Post Staff Writer
Drought, development and other threats have pushed the imperiled Gunnison sage grouse, found only in western Colorado, closer to extinction, a federal agency said.
This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would reconsider granting the bird protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The grouse is currently listed as a "candidate species," which means scientists believe it deserves listing, but the agency has no money to protect it.
Federal biologists upgraded the bird's status this year from a Level 5 candidate species to a Level 2, based on the agency's 11-step threat assessment. That move signaled that the agency will take a hard look at adding the bird to the endangered species list this year, spokeswoman Sharon Rose said Thursday.
It's estimated that only 3,000 grouse remain, with two-thirds calling the Gunnison Valley home.
Recent surveys showed their numbers have declined by 30 percent due to drought and habitat loss, said Western State College professor Jessica Young, the leading grouse expert.
That decline has come despite work by biologists and ranchers to preserve their numbers.
Now, experts fear the arrival of West Nile virus may further dim the Gunnison grouse's prospects.
Meanwhile, the agency said threats to other Rocky Mountain candidate species, including two western Colorado penstemons, a flower, and a Montana fish species, the Arctic grayling, have increased.
The mountain plover was removed this year from the candidate list after a study found the bird could coexist with agriculture.
