Greater Sage Grouse Studied for Threat List

Conservation groups say new information in the latest petition to list the greater sage grouse as threatened or endangered could convince the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the bird is worthy of added protection under federal law.

Twenty conservation organizations petitioned the agency this week to list the bird, whose populations throughout the West have declined by as much as 80% over the last 20 years.

The filing comes as the Fish and Wildlife Service is under a federal court mandate to complete a finding by January on whether arguments and data included in three earlier petitions could lead to a possible listing.

In the pending decision, the agency must decide whether there’s enough scientific evidence to suggest a possible listing is warranted. If so, it would conduct another study before determining whether to list the species under the Endangered Species Act.