"Western greater sage grouse are famous for fierce battles between males in an annual rite to mate with hens. It’s a theatrical show of machismo, chest thumping and razor-sharp clawing over a wide landscape that people across the world travel to watch."
"The Trump administration made it clear this week that it is sapping the strength of a century-old law to protect birds, issuing guidance that the law would not be used as it has been to hold people or companies accountable for killing the animals."
"The 133-year-old Biological Survey Unit, slated to be closed this year, has gotten a short reprieve from the budget ax, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post."
"From the cockpit of a Cessna airplane, Gary Mowad, a special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, spotted what looked like a dried-out pond in rural eastern Colorado. The banks of the pond were black, so he suspected it was actually a pit for oil company waste."
"After a deadlocked 3-3 vote, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 4-2 Friday to elevate the marbled murrelet from a “threatened” species to “endangered.”"
"Heavy hitters and activists have lined up in a fight over Fish and Wildlife Service mitigation policies, showcasing how just a few words can expose very high stakes."
"An oil spill from an Iranian tanker that sank in the East China Sea is rapidly spreading, officials said Tuesday, alarming environmentalists about the threat to sea and bird life in the waterway."
"Federal officials might be grounded from pursuing companies whose operations incidentally kill migratory birds, under a two-pronged maneuver now advancing publicly on Capitol Hill and quietly inside the Interior Department."
"He campaigned as a guardian of birds. Now, his administration is pushing policies that could send billions of them to their graves."
"The Interior Department said Thursday it is withdrawing protections for 10 million acres of federal lands used by the threatened sage grouse to open it up for energy development."
