The House Armed Services Committee approves an amendment by Rep. Rob Bishop that would prohibit the Obama administration from declaring the greater sage grouse an endangered species.
Reports E & E’s Phil Taylor:
Bishop said his grouse rider would block Obama administration restrictions that are undermining national security.
“Almost unbelievably, sage grouse restrictions, based on dubious or outdated science, are currently costing the Department of Defense millions of dollars and impacting critical training and support activities at numerous installations across the country,” Bishop said in a statement yesterday. “If the Obama administration lists the bird under ESA, the needs of our military will be subordinate to an extreme environmental agenda. Our military personnel, who we ask so much of, deserve better.”
That view was echoed Monday in an op-ed in Roll Call by three former servicemen who warned that a federal listing for sage grouse would “significantly impair the readiness and effectiveness of a number of military installations, and the military units assigned to these sorts of camps and bases.”
Wildlife advocates are challenging those claims.
