Feds to give states more flexibility in protecting wild bird

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Interior Department on Monday unveiled a plan to protect the threatened sage grouse that gives Western states where the bird lives flexibility for economic development. Miners, ranchers and some Western governors had argued Obama-era policies jeopardized logging and other businesses.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the new strategy for the ground-dwelling bird that has suffered a dramatic population decline across its 11-state range. Zinke insisted that the fe