Land Letter http://www.landletter.com The Premier Information Source for Professionals Who Track Environmental and Energy Policy. en-us Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 <div id="LL_story_image" style="width:150px;"> <img src="http://www.eenews.net/ll/photos/2009/01/08/photo_ll_01.jpg" alt="Sage Grouse" name="indeximage" width="150" border="1" id="indeximage" /> The sage grouse has scuttled or interfered with many plans for oil and gas drilling, and a listing under the Endangered Species Act would make it even more difficult for companies to work in its habitat. Photo courtesy of USDA.</div> It appears increasingly likely that federal wildlife officials will not make a decision on whether to list the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act until this summer, putting the matter into the hands of the Obama administration. The Fish and Wildlife Service was expected to make a decision on the sage grouse by the end of 2008, but FWS biologist Pat Deibert said the agency would like to wait for the publication of new research about the bird in the journal <i>Studies in Avian Biology</i>. The research, expected to be published this summer, will include the work of more than two dozen scientists who have been studying sage grouse populations and threats to the bird's habitat. If FWS officials postpone their recommendation until after the research is published, it could put them in violation of a court order establishing a May 2009 decision on the sage grouse's status. The federal judge's decision stems from a lawsuit filed by the Western Watersheds Project challenging the agency's 2005 decision not to protect the sage grouse under ESA. SPOTLIGHT Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/1 As development continues to scrape away wildlife habitat, a new market-based approach to conservation is gaining ground. In the past, developers had to purchase or set aside lands to offset&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/2 High level Interior Department officials are considering a final rule to remove federal protection of gray wolves in the northern Rockies though the plan seeks to maintain federal control of&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/3 As the Department of Homeland Security struggles to meet a congressional mandate to build 670 miles of new, more impervious fencing along the U.S. border with Mexico, it has run&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/4 Two conservation groups last week appealed a controversial U.S. Forest Service decision to allow a logging project in the Kilkenny Roadless Area in the White Mountain National Forest. Though the&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/5 Before even taking over the helm of the Department of Agriculture, nominee Tom Vilsack has received a letter from more than 100 environmental groups making it loud and clear that&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/6 A University of Utah student who sabotaged the already controversial Dec. 19 Bureau of Land Management lease sale in Utah -- the last under the Bush administration -- has caused&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/7 No one has to convince Bill Sauble that global warming is real. The 60-year-old cattle rancher has seen it in the increasingly warmer winters and dryer summers that scorch the&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/8 With its treasure trove of archaeological sites, windswept slickrock and twisting red rock canyons, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in south-central Utah was the first national monument set aside as&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/9 This article first ran in E&ENews PM. Sen. Ken Salazar on Tuesday vowed to undertake a wide-ranging review of Interior Department policies if confirmed as secretary but remained mum on&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/10 This article first ran in Greenwire. Two groups are asking a federal judge to block a new National Park Service rule that lets visitors carry concealed weapons in parks. The&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/11 A version of this article first ran in Greenwire. The Bureau of Land Management finalized a plan on Dec. 31 that would nearly triple the timber harvest on 2.6 million&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/12 This article first ran in Greenwire. The nation's largest owner of timberland is ending its bid for changes in its use of Forest Service roads near company land, a move&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/13 Senate Dems vow to roll back Bush midnight regs Senate Democrats are crafting legislation to roll back last-minute Bush administration regulations, including recent changes to Endangered Species Act and oil&hellip; This Week's Stories Thu Jan 08 14:00:00 EST 2009 http://www.eenews.net/Landletter/rss/2009/01/08/14