Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and representatives of 10 Western states met in Cheyenne today to talk about sage grouse. Salazar says it is important that the Western States develop a comprehensive strategy to protect the bird.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has been looking to a strategy developed by the state of Wyoming as a successful way to protect sage grouse. That could lead to implementation of the Wyoming strategy in other states.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced last year that sage grouse deserved protection under the Endangered Species Act but weren't sufficiently imperiled to warrant moving forward with such a designation.Wyoming's strategy is based on designating "core areas" of sage grouse habitat where energy development and other habitat disturbance are restricted.

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