A U.S. judge who earlier ruled federal wildlife officials illegally denied Endangered Species Act protection for a population of bi-state sage grouse in California and Nevada in 2015 has reinstated the proposed listing of the bird as threatened until a new review determines whether it’s on the brink of extinction.

In the meantime, U.S. District Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero in San Francisco also ordered on Friday reinstatement of the proposed designation of more than 2,800 square miles (7,200 square kilometers) of critical habitat along the Sierra’s eastern front.

Spero said in a ruling in May the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ignored its own best scientific evidence when it reversed course three years ago on its 2013 proposal to declare the bi-state grouse threatened.  Click here to read the rest of the article