Moran amendment to remove ban on sage-grouse listing under the Endangered Species Act fails

Rep. Moran sought to prevent anti-conservation rider to appropriations bill from becoming law

Today Representative Jim Moran (D-VA) offered an amendment to strike a provision during House Appropriations Committee consideration of the FY 2015  House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that would delay the listing for four populations of imperiled sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act. The following is a statement from Defenders of Wildlife President and CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark:

“Gunnison sage-grouse and Mono Basin sage-grouse are already threatened with extinction, and the greater sage-grouse is headed down the same road. Its numbers have declined by over 90 percent and remaining populations face myriad challenges, including habitat loss and fragmentation from a variety of activities, such as development, oil and gas extraction and livestock grazing. Protecting these imperiled birds is a no-brainer.

“Our lawmakers are supposed to be the stewards of our nation’s natural resources, but these amendments were pure special interest politics, the polar opposite of good stewardship. Rep. Moran is to be commended for his fight to send these harmful riders to the cutting room floor where they belong.”

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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1.1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org and follow us on Twitter @defendersnews.