A study from the U.S. Geological Survey and Colorado State University is drawing attention to claims that oil and gas development in the western U.S. will cause continued decline in sage grouse populations. The study does not acknowledge the land management plans adopted throughout western states including Utah that were crafted specifically to preserve sage grouse populations and which have been credited as effective. Moffat County Commissioner John Kinkaid says that farmers and ranchers would disagree with the study’s conclusions and that it fails to mention that there are half a million greater sage grouse now living. “Again, it’s just about our own government fighting against us,” says Kinkaid. “Our own government [is] fighting the efforts of the average man or woman to live life, live in liberty and pursue their own happiness. We have allowed our government to gradually take away more and more of our freedoms.” For now, the U.S. Interior Department has chosen not to list sage grouse on the endangered species list.
