Greater Sage Grouse Does Not Need Federal Protections -- President Obama -- September 22, 2015

Updates

June 9, 2017: revised/renewed efforts to saving a species in which 2 of 3 males are infertile.

US Interior Sec. Ryan K. Zinke signed an order late on June 7 that was aimed at improving greater sage grouse habitat preservation efforts across 11 western states and strengthening cooperation between the federal government and state and local governments, oil and gas producers, ranchers, outdoor recreation groups, and other stakeholders.

.... also established an internal review team that will evaluate both federal greater sage grouse plans and state plans and programs to assure that they are complementary. The team also will consider local economic growth and job creation as it evaluates possible plan modifications.

WEA and the North Dakota Petroleum Council jointly sued the US Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service in federal court in May 2016, charging that the agencies developed amended land use plans for the greater sage grouse that imposed restrictions on new oil and gas leases and on development of existing leases

Original Post 

The Billings Gazette is reporting:

The Interior Department said Tuesday that the greater sage grouse, a ground-dwelling bird whose vast range spans 11 Western states, does not need federal protections following a costly effort to reverse the species' decline without reshaping the region's economy.

The fight over whether to list the bird as endangered or threatened recalled the battle over the spotted owl 25 years ago, where federal protection greatly impeded the logging economy. The Obama administration and affected states have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to saving the species without Endangered Species Act protections that many argued would threaten the oil and gas industry and agriculture.

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Another Endangered Species: The Individual ObamaCare Enrollee?

According to Motley Fool:

The number of paying Obamacare enrollees fell to 9.9 million by June 30, 2015, thus falling below the 10 million-person enrollment milestone many proponents had cheered. Put another way, roughly 1.8 million people who were enrolled in Obamacare at the end of February had either not paid their bills or were dropped by their insurers.