Nevada lawmakers push for sage grouse efforts

CARSON CITY (AP) - Nevada legislators are being briefed on sage grouse as the desert-dwelling bird teeters on the verge of becoming an endangered species.

Assemblyman David Bobzien of Reno promoted Assembly Concurrent Resolution 3, which urges the protection and restoration of sage grouse and their habitat in Nevada and recognizes the need to find funding for those efforts.

If the grouse is classified as endangered, development in the bird's habitat could be frozen, potentially jeopardizing Nevada's alternative energy projects.

The bird, known for its elaborate courtship ritual, numbers about 60,000 in Nevada. Biologists say the 2010 population was 30 percent below the long-term average.

Committee members did not vote on the resolution Tuesday.