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A conversation about the Endangered Species Act would be remiss without the Greater Sage-Grouse. The bird lives in 11 states in the West, with about 40 percent residing in Wyoming. Since the 1960s, data show that the total population has been declining. So, for many years, some groups have petitioned to list it as endangered. Wyoming has tried desperately to avoid that, as it could severely restrict development and energy production across much of the sagebrush landscape in the state. Wyoming Public Radio’s Caitlin Tan spoke with Bob Budd, chairman of the Sage-Grouse Implementation Team, which is overseeing the redrawing of Wyoming’s new sage-grouse map. Budd has been involved with the state’s efforts since 2000.
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The grizzly bear is one of the more controversial species in the West. It’s listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. But some experts and landowners think the population in and around Yellowstone National Park should be considered recovered. Meanwhile, some environmentalists say that in order for that grizzly population to be fully healthy, it needs more genetic diversity. One way to do that is by allowing grizzlies from a central Montana ecosystem to travel south and breed with bears in the Yellowstone Ecosystem, called creating connectivity. But that 100 miles or so between the two ecosystems is populated with over 200,000 people. Two communities in that 100 mile swath are preparing for the nearly inevitable arrival of grizzlies.
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Every spring, sage grouse go to ‘leks’ – which are sacred mating grounds in the sagebrush. This year, researchers noticed 15 percent more birds at the Wyoming leks compared to last year.
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The decades-long debate continues regarding whether wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains should be federally protected.According to several conservation groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) was supposed to decide whether wolves in the Northern Rockies should have endangered species protections or not by May 2022, due to a petition the groups filed. The groups are now suing the agency to force a decision.
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The Western Glacier Stonefly is Wyoming's only insect on the Endangered Species list.
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A recent district court decision had implications that upheld cattle grazing privileges in the Upper Green River area. But, environmentalists say this decision will have detrimental effects on the local grizzly bear populations.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list the northern long-eared bat as endangered. The bat’s populations are being decimated by a fungal infection called white nose syndrome. While these bats only touch Montana and Wyoming in our region, they could spread this fungus to other hibernating bats in the Mountain West.
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Gray wolves across nation are under federal protections again but not Wyoming, Idaho, Montana wolvesIn 2020, the Trump administration delisted all of the gray wolves in the U.S. that were not already delisted. That included wolves in the Great Lakes and the western portions of Washington, California and Oregon. But in a new ruling on Feb. 10, the judge said that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to show that wolf populations were sustainable without protection under the Endangered Species Act.
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As grizzlies move beyond the boundaries of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and create conflict, Montana seeks full management authority.
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The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service said on Thursday it is initiating a comprehensive status review of the gray wolf to determine if federal protections need to be reinstated. Conservation groups petitioned the service because of aggressive wolf hunting campaigns in Montana and Idaho.