Greater Sage Grouse Not Classified As 'Endangered Species'

The Obama administration has not given the greater sage grouse an "endangered species classification" on Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Instead, the government is estimating that its new "land-management plan" can protect its habitat.

"These collective efforts add up to a bright future for the sage grouse," said Sally Jewell, Interior Secretary of the Obama administration.

Hence, ranchers who have the sage grouse on their public lands are now enabled to keep their property, which has been hailed by the ranchers.

"Once you get a listing, it creates a real burden," said John O'Keefe, a presidential candidate for the Oregon Cattlemen's Association.

The new policy is expected to automatically eliminate threats to the sage grouse and eliminate the risk of being extinct, according to Yahoo News.

"This is the largest, most complex land conservation effort in the history of the United States," said Jewell.

Still, the policy has not pleased a number of conservation groups who feel that the plan is not enough to prevent a fall in the population, according to The Huffington Post.

"The sage grouse faces huge problems from industrial development and livestock grazing across the west, and now the Interior Department seems to be squandering a major opportunity to put science before politics and solve these problems," said Erik Molvar, wildlife biologist with WildEarth Guardians. "The government's proposed plans fall far short of ensuring this iconic, imperiled bird is protected from the serious threats posed by fossil fuel extraction, grazing and other types of development," according to HNGN.