The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, speaking for its 50 state fish and wildlife agency members, territories and provinces, today congratulates U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell for the federal government's decision not to list the Greater sage-grouse as a threatened or endangered bird under the Endangered Species Act. The Greater sage-grouse lives in 11 of the Western states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming and has a range reaching across 257,000 square miles, including two Canadian provinces. AFWA President Dave Chanda, Director, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, wishes to express AFWA's members' gratitude for the states, the federal agencies, the ranchers and the energy industry leaders that came together to protect the sagebrush habitat and this iconic western bird. Chanda stated, "In this unprecedented collaboration between federal, state and local agencies, and the private sector, we have gained enormous experience in what we can accomplish on a landscape scale when we work together."> Check out this and other news releases.
