Gov. Mead warns feds against changing sage grouse plan

Two Western governors are warning the Trump administration against making big changes in a plan to protect a ground-dwelling bird across the West, saying it would send a message to states not to bother working together to save other imperiled species.

Colorado Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and Wyoming Republican Gov. Matt Mead said Tuesday a 2015 conservation plan designed to save the greater sage grouse was the product of long negotiations among state and federal governments, conservation groups, industry and agriculture.

The plan is designed to protect the bird without putting it on the Endangered Species List, which usually brings restrictions on oil and gas drilling, mining and agriculture.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said in August his department would consider changing the plan to give states more flexibility.