One Grouse Species Gained Protection Last Month

Federal officials say Congress acted too late if it wanted to block protections for a rare bird found in Colorado and Utah.
A spending bill approved by Congress last week blocks any money for a final rule to protect the Gunnison sage grouse.
But that final rule was issued before the bill passed.
An estimated 5,000 Gunnison sage grouse remain, all in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared it a threatened species last month. That will bring restrictions on oil and gas drilling and other activity on up to 2,200 square miles.
The Gunnison grouse is related to the more populous greater sage grouse, which is at the center of a larger debate over federal protection across 11 Western states
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