U.S. to relax rules protecting sage grouse, in win for oil drillers

By Valerie VolcoviciWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Department on Monday launched an overhaul to an Obama-era plan to protect sage grouse that it says aims to both preserve the species of bird while expanding opportunities for oil development in western states where they live.The move is a win for the drilling industry which had long argued that the plan developed by former President Barack Obama was too restrictive, but a setback for conservation groups concerned the Interior Departmen