Wyoming prepares for sage grouse decision LARAMIE, WY (wpr) - The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is holding meetings this month to discuss how it would handle a decision to put the greater sage grouse on the Endangered Species List. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will issue its decision about the bird's status in late February. Game and Fish Sage Grouse Program Coordinator Tom Christianson says he and others do not expect a sage grouse listing - but the agency wants to have some plans in place, "Certainly we would continue with the kinds of conservation efforts that have been ramped up over recent years. But in terms of new initiatives and so forth - it's probably premature to speculate on exactly what those would be."
In the northeast, sage grouse are currently at their lowest levels since the mid-90s. Christianson says that's due to both natural population cycles and human activity, like coal-bed methane development, in the area.
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