Trial by Fire

Partners across 11 western states are rallying in unprecedented fashion to reduce threats to greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and the sagebrush ecosystem they occupy (Fig. 1). Actions are spurred by the March 2010  nding issued by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that sage-grouse warrant protection under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), but are precluded until 2015 by higher priority actions.1 The FWS identi ed two overarching factors that resulted in the “warranted but precluded” determination—the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms to protect habitats, and habitat loss and fragmentation. DOI: 10.2458/azu_rangelands_v35i3_murphy