skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, July 15, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President Joe Biden calls on the nation to 'lower the temperature' on politics; Utah governor calls for unity following Trump assassination attempt; Civil rights groups sound the alarm on Project 2025; New England braces for 'above-normal' hurricane season.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Former President Trump is injured but safe after an attempted assassination many condemn political violence. Democrats' fears intensify over Biden's run. And North Carolina could require proof of citizenship to vote.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Enticing remote workers to move is a new business strategy in rural America, Eastern Kentucky preservationists want to save the 20th century home of a trailblazing coal miner, and a rule change could help small meat and poultry growers and consumers.

Budget Bill Blocks Endangered Species Protection for Sage Grouse

play audio
Play

Monday, March 14, 2022   

Conservation groups are slamming a spending deal in Congress that's expected to pass this week - because it would forbid Endangered Species Act protections for an imperiled bird in the West.

The sage grouse population in the high desert country of Western states has dropped 80% since 1965. Yet federal spending bills have included this prohibition since 2014.

This year, the initial bill dropped the ESA prohibition - but the final version restored it. Robert Dewey, vice president for government relations with the group Defenders of Wildlife, called it a huge missed opportunity.

"Policy on the sage grouse must be driven by science and not politics," said Dewey. "I think it's time to end this prohibition and allow biologists to determine whether this species needs federal protection."

Sage grouse rely on sagebrush for food and shelter, and their habitat has dwindled with development and energy exploration.

In 2015, the Obama administration negotiated a major compromise to protect the bird - a settlement between conservation groups, state agencies, the feds, ranchers, tribes, and the oil industry. However, the Trump administration opted to weaken that agreement.

Dewey said this year, Republicans insisted on maintaining the requirement to keep the sage grouse from being classified as endangered. He blamed pressure from the fossil-fuel industry.

"Since 2015, 1.6 million acres of sage grouse habitat have been leased for oil and gas purposes," said Dewey. "So there's no doubt the oil and gas industry is no fan of greater protections for the sage grouse."

Sage grouse habitat covers 11 states, from California east to the Dakotas. The same area supports more than 350 other declining species, including pronghorn, mule deer, pygmy rabbit, elk and almost 200 species of birds.



Disclosure: Defenders of Wildlife contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Endangered Species & Wildlife, Energy Policy, Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
"I truly love our Country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin," wrote Former President Donald Trump on social media. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

Social Issues

play sound

Gov. Spencer Cox is calling for unity as well as the condemnation of political violence in light of the assassination attempt on former President …


Environment

play sound

Last week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee heard testimony on the state and federal response to the collapse of the Key Bridge…

Environment

play sound

Forecasters are warning New Englanders to prepare for an "above-normal" number of hurricanes this summer. Hurricane Beryl was already the strongest …


Line 5, an Enbridge pipeline that was built in 1953, runs for 645 miles from Wisconsin, under the Straits of Mackinac, through Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario. (Jorge Moro/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A Michigan environmental group is addressing an appeal challenging the state's decision to approve the enclosure of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline…

Social Issues

play sound

Civil rights groups are sounding the alarm about potential threats to American democracy posed by Project 2025, a roadmap created by the Heritage …

In a 2024 report from the National Education Association, South Dakota ranked 49th in the U.S. for average teacher salary, at about $53,000 a year. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A coalition of South Dakota groups is voicing its opposition to a ballot measure intended to end a state sales tax on consumables. If passed this …

Social Issues

play sound

North Dakota officials will highlight a new project today to boost childcare access for parents with nontraditional work hours. A local provider …

Social Issues

play sound

With just over a month before Indiana university students return, a new law affecting college professor tenures is in full effect. The law targets …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021