1. ENDANGERED SPECIES:
FWS may punt on sage grouse decision, leaving issue to Obama admin

The sage grouse has scuttled or interfered with many plans for oil and gas drilling, and a listing under the Endangered Species Act would make it even more difficult for companies to work in its habitat. Photo courtesy of USDA.

It appears increasingly likely that federal wildlife officials will not make a decision on whether to list the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act until this summer, putting the matter into the hands of the Obama administration.

The Fish and Wildlife Service was expected to make a decision on the sage grouse by the end of 2008, but FWS biologist Pat Deibert said the agency would like to wait for the publication of new research about the bird in the journal Studies in Avian Biology. The research, expected to be published this summer, will include the work of more than two dozen scientists who have been studying sage grouse populations and threats to the bird's habitat.

If FWS officials postpone their recommendation until after the research is published, it could put them in violation of a court order establishing a May 2009 decision on the sage grouse's status. The federal judge's decision stems from a lawsuit filed by the Western Watersheds Project challenging the agency's 2005 decision not to protect the sage grouse under ESA. Go to story #1

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