Forest Service advances changes to sage grouse protections

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service is advancing changes to sage grouse protections in five Western states that environmental groups say are part of the Trump administration’s efforts favoring industry but that push the imperiled bird closer to extinction.
The agency on Friday made public draft plans altering rules put in place in 2015 by the Obama administration generally viewed as keeping the bird from being listed for federal protections under the Endangered Species Act.
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