Utah sues federal government over plan to protect greater sage-grouse
Source: The Guardian
Utah sues federal government over plan to protect greater sage-grouse
Federal plan stops short of listing bird that once numbered in the millions as an
endangered species but western state fears mining and agriculture will suffer
Oliver Milman in New York
Tuesday 9 February 2016 22.00 GMT
The greater sage-grouse, a bird best known for its flamboyant mating ritual, has become embroiled in a tussle over states’ rights, with Utah suing the federal government over its protection of the threatened species.
Utah’s lawsuit claims that a federal plan to protect the sage-grouse has “overthrown” the state’s own work to safeguard the species and will prevent the state from using vast tracts of land for mining or agriculture. The greater sage-grouse is a ground-dwelling bird that has been described as resembling an “avant-garde turkey”.
The plan, brokered by the Department of the Interior and unveiled in September, involves protecting millions of acres of federal land across 11 western states. It was seen as a compromise to avoid a federal endangered species listing, which would have imposed far more onerous restrictions upon the states.
But governor Gary Herbert of Utah said that the federal initiative was “in many ways more restrictive” than an endangered species act designation as it limits mining in 3.3m acres (1.3m hectares) of sage-grouse habitat in the state.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/09/utah-sues-federal-government-greater-sage-grouse
