The White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts of Colorado have submitted comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to express their disagreement with the proposed federal listing of the Gunnsion sage-grouse. These districts are charged with caring for the natural resources within their respective boundaries and, as such, have been actively involved in protecting both the Gunnison and Greater sage-grouse and their habitat regions. Yet despite their extensive and effective work, a federal ESA listing is still under consideration. According to their comments:
“Given the multitude of partners working to protect the GSG, a ‘significant portion of the range’ has increased by approximately 33% since 1953 and has been determined by Colorado Parks and Wildlife to have less than .5% risk of extinction in the next 50 years. Therefore, this species is not warranted to be listed as threatened or endangered. However, the FWS blatantly chose to recommend listing the GSG as ‘endangered’ after all the work, dedication, time and resources put into sustaining the Gunnison Sage-grouse by Colorado tax payers, private property landowners and local government entities. This proposed listing is an affront from all perspectives.”
Read their full comments HERE.
