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The U.S. Department of the Interior has ruled that the greater sage-grouse, an iconic Western bird known for its jaunty plumage and striking mating dance, does not need to be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
At least for now, the decision marks an end to an at-times bitter dispute between environmentalists, who argue that the bird needs protection, and oil companies and business interests who say that a "threatened" listing would have an economic impact in the range of billions of dollars. U.S. populations of the birds have declined by 90 percent since the 18th century, and there are now somewhere between 200,000 and 500,000 today.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said in a video released on Tuesday that "because of an unprecedented effort by dozens of partners across 11 western states...the greater sage grouse does not require protection under the Endangered Species Act." According to the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, populations of the animal have increased slightly since 2013.
In recent years, there have been voluntary decisions by states, oil developers and others to set aside land for the bird. In addition, the Department of the Interior is also instituting new rules for 12 million acres "where strict limits on oil and gas limits will be enforced" scattered across several Western states, the Associated Press reports.
"It's the most complex, the largest land conservation effort in U.S. history," Jewell adviser Sarah Greenberger told the AP. "This model of science-based, landscape-level conservation is truly the future of conservation."
The decision to not list the animal as endangered is likely to be challenged by environmental groups in court, and Jewell says that the matter could be taken up again in five years if sage-grouse populations continue to decline.
A recent study by researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey found that if worsening fires can't be subdued, they are likely to reduce the population of these birds by half over the next 30 years.