❶Biologists estimate that as many as 2 million lesser prairie chickens—a kind of bird living on stretching grasslands— （ once lent red to the often grey landscape of the midwestern and southwestern United States.❷But just some 22, 000 birds remain today, occupying about 16% of the species* historic range. （26）
❶The crash was a major reason the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) decided to formally list the bird as threatened. ❷"The lesser prairie chicken is in a desperate situation,said USFWS Director Daniel Ashe.❸Some environmentalists, however, were disappointed.❹They had pushed the agency to designate the bird as "endangered," a status that gives federal officials greater regulatory power to crack down on threats. ❺But Ashe and others argued that the "threatened" tag gave the federal government flexibility to try out new, potentially less confrontational conservation approaches.❻In particular, they called for forging closer collaborations with western state governments, which are often uneasy with federal action, and with the private landowners who control an estimated 95% of the prairie chicken's habitat.
❶Under the plan, for example, the agency said it would not prosecute landowners or businesses that unintentionally kill, harm, or disturb the bird, as long as they had signed a range-wide management plan to restore prairie chicken habitat. ❷Negotiated by USFWS and the states, the plan requires individuals and businesses that damage habitat as part of their （28） operations to pay into a fund to replace every acre destroyed with 2 new acres of suitable habitat.❸The fund will also be used to compensate landowners who set aside habitat.❹USFWS also set an interim goal of restoring prairie chicken populations to an annual average of 67, 000 birds over the next 10 years. ❺And it gives the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), a coalition of state agencies, the job of monitoring progress. ❷Overall, the idea is to let "states remain in the driver's seat for managing the species,Ashe said.
❶Not everyone buys the win-win rhetoric.❷Some Congress members are trying to block the plan, and at least a dozen industry groups, four states, and three environmental groups are challenging it in federal court.❸Not surprisingly, industry groups and states generally argue it goes too far; environmentalists say it doesn't go far enough.❹"The federal government is giving responsibility for managing the bird to the same industries that are pushing it to extinction,says biologist Jay Lininger.
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生物学家估计，多达200万只小草原榛鸡 一种栖息于绵延草地上的鸟类）曾经给美国 中西部和西南部常年灰暗的风景增添了一抹 红色。但如今仅约2. 2万只小草原榛鸡存活 下来，约占该物种历史数量的16%。 这种急剧下降是美国鱼类及野生动 植物管理局（USFWS）决定正式将其列为受 威胁物种的一个主要原因。“小草原榛鸡的 处境很危险，” USFWS的局长丹尼尔・阿什 说道。然而，（27 ） 一些环保人士对此感到 很失望。他们曾敦促当局将这种鸟类列为“濒 危物种”，该级别将赋予联邦官员更大的监 管权力来打击对该物种的威胁。但是，阿什 和其他人认为，“受威胁物种”的标签能够 使联邦政府灵活地尝试新的且潜在对抗性较 小的保护方法。他们强烈呼吁与西部各州政 府以及私有土地业权人建立更紧密的合作关 系，因为西部各州政府常对联邦政府的措施 感到不安，而私有土地业权人控制着约95% 的草原榛鸡栖息地。 据此计划，例如，（28）当局表示他们 不会起诉无意杀死、伤害或惊扰小草原榛鸡 的土地业权人或企业，只要他们签订了一项 大范围恢复草原榛鸡栖息地的管理计 划。经USFWS与各州协商，该计划规定： 因运作而破坏栖息地的个人和企业需向 一项基金付款，每破坏一英亩栖息地，就需 要用这笔资金购买两英亩合适的新栖息地。 该基金也将被用来补偿保留栖息地的土地业 权人。同时，USFWS还设立了 一个暂时性的 目标，即在未来十年，将草原榛鸡的数量恢 复至年均6.7万只。且它赋予了美国鱼类及 野生动植物机构西部协会（WAFWA） —— 一个州立机构联盟——监测进展的职责。 总的来说,（29 ）我们的想法就是让“各州 在该物种管理方面保持主导位置，”阿什说。 并不是所有人都会接受这种双赢的论调。 一些国会成员正在试图阻止这个计划，且至 少有十二个行业团体、四个州和三个环保组 织在联邦法庭上对该计划提出质疑。（30）二 些行业团体和某些州普遍认为该计划太过偏 激，但环保人士却表示其做得还远远不够—— 这并不足为奇。“联邦政府正将管理鸟类的 责任交给正在使其走向灭绝的行业组织，” 生物学家杰伊•利宁格说。 | .