Shift in firefighting prioritizes sage grouse in West

RENO — Federal agencies deciding how to deploy firefighters during one of the West’s worst wildfire seasons are considering a new factor in their deliberations: an imperiled bird that inhabits a vast stretch of sagebrush from California to the Dakotas. Officials have already mapped out the greater sage grouse’s habitat west of the Rockies, where wildfire is considered a primary threat to the bird. They’ve positioned semi-trailer sized water containers in areas that need p