Shift in US Firefighting Prioritizes Sage Grouse in West

Federal agencies deciding how to deploy firefighters during one of the West’s worst wildfire seasons are considering a new factor in their deliberations: an imperiled bird that inhabits a vast stretch of sagebrush from California to the Dakotas.

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2015 file photo, a helicopter flies past a ground crew fighting a wildfire scorching grassland that ranchers need to feed cattle and which is also primary habitat for sage grouse, near the Reynolds Creek area in the Owyhee Mountains of Idaho. Adam Eschbach/The Idaho Press-Tribune via AP, File

RENO, Nev. — Federal agencies deciding how to deploy firefighters during one of the West’s worst wildfire seasons are considering a new factor in their deliberations: an imperiled bird that inhabits a vast stretch of sagebrush from California to the Dakotas.

Officials have already mapped out the greater sage grouse’s habitat west of the Rockies, where wildfire is considered a primary threat to the bird. They’ve positioned semi-trailer sized water containers in areas that need protecting. And wildlife biologists are advising firefighters.

FILE - In this May 9, 2008 file photo, male sage grouses fight for the attention of a female, southwest of Rawlins, Wyo. Jerret Raffety, Rawlins Daily Times via AP, File