Natural History Wanderings

From the Center For Biological Diversity

Every spring, just east of Yosemite National Park, unique desert birds perform a flamboyant mating dance. Featuring stiffly fanned tail feathers, inflatable yellow neck sacs, and shrill coos and cackles that echo off nearby rocks, the elaborate, funny display of male sage grouse is one of the wonders of the West.

But human pressures threaten the birds’ existence. Privately owned cattle continue to overgraze the land, off-road vehicle drivers scare away the timid birds, and energy developers are making plans to move into the Mono Basin. So recently the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to reconsider listing this “bi-state” grouse as endangered — but predictably, energy developers, ORV groups and subsidized livestock operators would like to see that protection denied.

Please — let’s make sure that neither we nor our children have to witness the last dance of these extraordinary birds.

Urge the Service to give the grouse the full protection of the Endangered Species Act.

Click here to take action and get more information.