Commentary: No country for the old sage grouse

Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune A Sage-Grouse Struts on a lek in the Parker Mountain area, near Loa, Utah, Friday, April 22, 2016.The mating dance of the sage grouse is like a ballet with percussion and wind. If you were to view it in slow motion, here's what you'd see:

Costumed in a white fur-like ruff, the male grouse makes a whooshing sound by rubbing his wings against the ruff's feathers. His sharply pointed tail feathers fan out like a shield, and dangling filoplumes sprout from his head like a crown - but it is the flashing yellow air sacs on his chest that dominate the spectacle, protruding as he jerks his head upward. He bounces, deflating the sacs with a series of loud popping…