Judge is mulling sage grouse rules

RENO — A federal judge put a Nevada lawsuit challenging U.S. sage grouse protections on the fast-track Wednesday but said she isn’t ready to decide in the meantime whether to temporarily suspend the regulations critics say will cripple rural economies across the West. A Reno lawyer arguing for a temporary injunction said the new restrictions on mining and livestock grazing threaten “the economic survival” of numerous businesses, entire rural counties and “the very w