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SERVICE
FINDS LISTING OF WESTERN SAGE GROUSE IN COLUMBIA BASIN WARRANTED,
BUT PRECLUDED
Species
to be placed on "candidate" list
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that western
sage grouse found in the Columbia Basin warrant protection under
the Endangered Species Act, but that listing the population
is precluded by the need to protect higher priority species
first.
"We have determined
that western sage grouse in the Columbia Basin are a distinct
population segment under the Act and that they should be listed
as threatened," said Anne Badgley, regional director of
the Service's Pacific Region. "However, with so many species
requiring listing across the country, we have to rely on a priority
system, and at the moment there are a number of species in greater
need of protection."
As a result of today's
decision, the Columbia Basin population of western sage grouse
will be placed on the Service's candidate list, which currently
includes 236 species. These candidates are rated on a scale
of 1 to 12 under the Service's Listing Priority Guidance with
action taken on highest priority "Category 1" species
first. The Columbia Basin western sage grouse population was
given a listing priority number of 9.
Historically, western
sage grouse were found in south-central British Columbia and
throughout most of eastern Washington and Oregon. The bird now
is found only in central and southern Oregon and in two small
areas of the Columbia Basin in central Washington. The population
within Columbia Basin ecosystem, totaling about 1,000 birds,
occurs at two locations 34 miles apart in Douglas County and
parts of Kittitas and Yakima counties, Washington. These birds
occur mostly on private and state-owned lands and federal lands
managed by the Army. Historically, the bird also occurred in
the northern Oregon portion of the Columbia basin. The population
of western sage grouse in central and southern Oregon consists
of about 20,000 birds and is considered stable.
In the past, Washington
had large numbers of western sage grouse and annual state harvests
from 1951 to 1973 averaged roughly 1,800 birds. By 1987 the
harvest was down to 18 birds and sage grouse hunting in Washington
was closed in 1988. Loss and degradation of native shrub-steppe
habitats are the primary threats to western sage grouse in the
Columbia Basin. Population declines throughout the basin are
also attributed to fires, disturbance due to military training,
over-grazing, predators, collisions with vehicles, pesticides
and other disturbances. Inbreeding may also pose a problem for
the bird's long-term survival.
The Service determined
that the birds located in Washington are a "distinct population
segment." The Endangered Species Act permits listing of
distinct population segments of vertebrate species if these
segments are discrete or separate from the remainder of the
species, if they are significant to the species, and if they
are found to be endangered or threatened.
Sage grouse are
chicken-like, ground-nesting birds, and are the largest North
American grouse species. Adult birds range in size from 19 to
30 inches and can weigh between two and seven pounds. The bird
has a dark grayish-brown body with many small gray and white
speckles, fleshy yellow combs over the eyes, long pointed tails,
and dark-green toes. Males also have blackish chin and throat
feathers, conspicuous feathers at the back of the head and neck,
and white feathers around the neck and upper belly forming a
ruff. During breeding displays, males exhibit olive-green bare
patches of skin on their breast.
Today's decision
was made in response to a petition from the Northwest Ecosystem
Alliance and the Biodiversity Legal Foundation.
The 12-month finding
for the Washington population of western sage grouse was published
in today's Federal Register. Copies may be obtained from the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Upper Columbia Fish and Wildlife
Office, 11103 E. Montgomery Drive, Spokane, Washington 99206.
The public is invited to submit additional information and comments
to the office Supervisor at the above address.
The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible
for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the
American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National
Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national
wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special
management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries,
64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field
stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers
the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations,
restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores
wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments
with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal
Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars
in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish
and wildlife agencies.
For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov
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