Cheyenne, Wyo. • The U.S. Forest Service wants to reduce designated habitat in Wyoming and Nevada for a ground-dwelling bird.
The agency said Friday its plan would target 300 square miles now set aside for sage grouse in Wyoming and Nevada, with nearly all of the reduction in Wyoming.
A Wyoming official says the proposed changes simply align Forest Service plans with Wyoming's map of state-designated sage grouse habitat.
More than 8,000 square miles of national forest land has been set aside as protected habitat for the birds in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.