Oregon delays sage grouse habitat maps for Grant County after community backlash

Oregon delays sage grouse habitat maps for Grant County after community backlash

For two decades, Oregon ranchers and state agencies have teamed up to keep the sage grouse off the endangered species list. They’ve drawn up their own plans to protect the bird while allowing farms and ranches in habitat areas, so that federal species protections don’t impose more rigid rules.But an effort to update the state’s sage grouse habitat maps has alarmed some Grant County residents. That prompted Oregon’s Land Conservation and Developm…