Some Utah experts support sage grouse protection rollbacks

St. George • An iconic bird species known for dramatically puffing up “bulbous yellow air sacs” on its chest and producing “weird pops and whistles” to attract mates across western sagebrush landscapes is now puffing up drama and noise on the political landscape as the focus of a series of amendments to its management plan published late last week that open up 51 million acres of habitat to oil, gas and mineral leasing.Environmental groups responded to the developmen