Bishop, Western lawmakers say sage grouse not endangered species

WASHINGTON — On the eve of an expected decision about whether to protect the sage grouse as an endangered species, Western House Republicans led by Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, argued the step is unwarranted and would devastate public land use.

"Placing the sage grouse on the endangered species list is unnecessary and flies in the face of the proven progress state wildlife agencies have made in the protection of the grouse and its habitat throughout the West," said Bishop, chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus.

The caucus Thursday sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar urging that the sage grouse not be listed as endangered. A court has ordered that the decision on that listing be made by today.

The caucus worried that the federal government may not be using numbers from state wildlife agencies about how many sage grouse they are finding. The letter also said robust conservation efforts are already taking place in Utah, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming.

Bishop said listing the grouse as endangered "will have a devastating impact on public land use and will disproportionately hurt ranchers and energy producers whose livelihood depends upon access to the land."

Bishop added, "It is easy for Secretary Salazar to impose his anti-energy, anti-public lands agenda from his East Coast offices, but at some point, he'll have to come back West to face the thousands of Westerners who have been affected by his destructive policies."

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a member of the caucus, also released a statement that said he does not believe the sage grouse merits any protection.

"The only good place for a sage grouse to be listed is on the menu of a French bistro. It does not deserve federal protection, period," Chaffetz said.

This story was reported from Salt Lake City.

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