Delegation: Wyoming deserves answer on sage grouse, not more delays
by Wyoming Delegation: Enzi, Barrasso, Lummis media release
March 5, 2010
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso and Representative Cynthia Lummis, all R-Wyo., made the following comments following the announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that the sage grouse would be warranted, but precluded for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
"If it isn’t one thing it is another with the sage grouse listing. The State of Wyoming, its industries and its citizens have worked tirelessly to protect the sage grouse and avoid an ESA listing. More unpredictability in this ruling means more uncertainty for Wyoming jobs," said Enzi.
"Wyoming companies need certainty to make investments that will create thousands of jobs, and provide energy security for America. The FWS determination creates more questions than it answers. People in Wyoming who are looking for work or worrying about their current job now must continue to wait for a concrete decision from the Administration," said Barrasso.
"The ‘warranted but precluded’ listing only further illustrates that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency should be focusing its time and resources on species facing imminent extinction, not species already benefitting from aggressive, state-level conservation efforts like those ongoing for the sage grouse in Wyoming," Lummis said. "Such a listing also allows for the continued management of the species by state, not federal, wildlife agencies – a provision of the listing I fully intend to ensure is honored. Wyoming’s efforts to protect the sage grouse must be recognized."
Listing the sage grouse would be one of the most significant listings in the history of the Endangered Species Act, as far as total number of states and land area involved, according to the delegation.
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