Sage Grouse Debate Prompts Scrutiny of Far-Reaching Federal Species Law

WASHINGTON — The federal government listed Johnston’s Frankenia as an endangered species in 1984 insisting the special protection was needed because there were only 1,500 of the Texas shrubs left on the planet.

But the government made a mistake; there are at least nine million of the plants living a healthy existence throughout the state and in northern Mexico, yet the shrub remains on the federal Endangered Species List as a protected plant because the de-listing efforts that started a decade ago have become too cumbersome to complete.

Now as debate heats up on Capitol Hill over the proposed listing of the Sage Grouse as an endangered species, a key concern of Colorado Republican Rep. Scott Tipton is that it may never be de-listed, even if the population recovers.

Read more at the Colorado Observer