The Obama administration will no longer consider state
boundaries when determining endangered species protections, a
decision that could mean more protection for endangered species
over wider areas, officials said Friday. Under the previous
policy, set by the Bush administration, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service could require special protection for a species
in one state but not in another, even though the species'
habitat exists in both states. The Bush policy resulted in
situations like the case of the Preble's meadow jumping mouse,
which has contiguous habitat in Colorado and Wyoming. The Fish
and Wildlife Service in 2008 imposed protections for the mouse
in Colorado but not in neighboring Wyoming. The reasoning then
was that the mouse, which was listed as a threatened species in
1998, was not as threatened by development in Wyoming as in
Colorado. Environmental groups contend the mouse should be
listed in Wyoming as well, and they hope the policy change
results in restoring protection for the mouse in W