U.S. pushes changes to Western land plans that judge blocked

Billings, Mont. • U.S. Interior Department officials are seeking to bolster their case for easing restrictions on energy development, mining and grazing in Western states inhabited by a declining bird species.A federal judge in Idaho blocked the Trump administration plans last year over concerns that they could harm greater sage grouse, a ground-dwelling bird.Assistant Interior Secretary Casey Hammond says a new set of environmental studies published Friday clarifies the steps the governmen