The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will conduct three informal public meetings on the service’s proposal to list the Gunnison sage grouse as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Public meetings will be held from 5 to 7 p.m.in Gunnison on Jan. 23, Montrose on Jan. 30, and Dove Creek on Jan. 31. All meetings will be an open house format with a presentation at 5:15 and 6:15 p.m.
The Gunnison sage-grouse now occupies only approximately seven percent of its historic range. Approximately 5,000 breeding birds remain in sagebrush and adjacent meadow and streamside habitats in and around the Gunnison Basin in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah. State conservation agencies, in partnership with federal agencies, are working on landscape-level, voluntary conservation planning effort to conserve Gunnison sage-grouse habitat. Thanks to collaborative conservation efforts, the largest remaining Gunnison sage-grouse population has remained relatively stable over the past 12 years. However, work remains to stabilize the other six remaining populations and to address threats throughout the bird’s range, particularly habitat fragmentation resulting from increased development activity.
The three public meetings will provide an opportunity for the public learn about the proposal and provide written comments on the listing proposal. Below are the dates and locations for each public meeting: The meetings will be from 5:00-7:00 PM.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013 Gunnison Fairgrounds, Fred R. Field Western Heritage Center, Van Tuyl Room, 275 S. Spruce Street, Gunnison, CO
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 Holiday Inn Express, 1391 South Townsend Ave. Montrose, CO
Thursday, January 31, 2013 Dove Creek Community Center, 403 West 7th Street. Dove Creek, CO
For more information about the Gunnison sage-grouse and copies of each proposal, visit the Service’s web site at http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/birds/gunnisonsagegrouse
