In spite of the many misguided arguments from environmental extremists and the federal bureaucrats beholden to them, it now seems the American sage grouse population is skyrocketing. This means the sage grouse, with populations sprawling across 11 states, is actually flourishing.
This population surge flies in the face of the contentions of those advocating for a listing under the Endangered Species Act, which is slated to be proposed this September. In 2010, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) of the Department of the Interior first decided to consider listing the sage grouse as endangered, following a drop in population from 2007 to 2013.
However, according to the findings of a report soon to be released, since 2013 the number of sage grouse have increased by two thirds. Science has shown that these spikes are natural peaks and troughs of the population, caused by weather patterns.
The original report that compelled the FWS to take action was conducted at the behest of environmental lobbying interests in D.C. The Daily Caller explains the report, “was bought, paid for and published” by”an “$810 million behemoth that made over $111 million in grants in 2013 and constantly pushes for more federal environmental regulation.”
Phil Taylor of Environment and Energy Publishing suggests, “State wildlife officials said the report cherry-picked just the years of decline.” By increasing regulation over the sage grouse, the Department of the Interior, namely the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management, has been able to control even more land and resources.
Over 2,000 species are listed as endangered under the ESA. How many more times will biased science be used to justify the frivolous spending of taxpayer dollars and the creation of economically disastrous regulations?