The Ongoing Saga Of The Sage Grouse

The sage grouse is an endangered species. It is estimated that there are currently only 100 greater sage-grouse remaining in Canada. Environmental groups point towards habitat loss and degradation as a result of agricultural and industrial uses of land as the leading cause of endangerment. Although the sage-grouse historically inhabited many areas in western Canada, its populations are now confined to southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan.

The federal Government has recognized the sage-grouse as an endangered species pursuant to the Species at Risk Act ("SARA"). When a species is designated federally as endangered, the Minister of Environment is required to prepare a recovery strategy for that species pursuant to SARA. The Government of Canada issued a federal Recovery Strategy pursuant to SARA in respect of the sage-grouse on January 14, 2008.

In 2009,1 several environmental groups (the "Applicants"), applied to the Federal Court of Canada to review the Recovery Strategy for the sage-grouse. The Applicants cited an alleged breach by the Minister of Environment to identify as much critical habitat of the sage-grouse as possible based on the...