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Biologists estimate that as many as 2 million lesser prairie chickens — a kind of bird living on stretching grasslands — once lent red to the often gray landscape of the midwestern and southwestern United States.
生物学家估计美国中西部和西南部的广袤草原上曾生活着多达200万只的小草原松鸡，这些红色的小草原松鸡为灰蒙蒙的草原风貌增添了几分红艳。
But just some 22,000 birds remain today, occupying about 16% of the species' historic range.
但如今小草原松鸡的现存数量只有大约22,000只，其栖息地范围仅有过去的16%那么大。
The crash was a major reason the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service(USFWS) decided to formally list the bird as threatened.
小草原松鸡数量的锐减是促使美国鱼类及野生动植物管理局（USFWS）决定正式将其列为“受到威胁”物种的主要原因。
"The lesser prairie chicken is in a desperate situation," said USFWS Director Daniel Ashe.
该管理局局长丹尼尔·阿什说：“小草原松鸡处境十分堪忧。”
Some environmentalists, however, were disappointed.
然而，一些环保主义者却对此感到失望。
They had pushed the agency to designate the bird as "endangered," a status that gives federal officials greater regulatory power to crack down on threats.
因为他们一直敦促该管理局将这种鸟类列为“濒危”物种，这样的话就能让联邦官员有更大的监管权来打击威胁该物种的行为。
But Ashe and others argued that the "threatened" tag gave the federal government flexibility to try out new, potentially less confrontational conservations approaches.
但是阿什和其他人称，“受到威胁”这一标签让联邦政府能够灵活地尝试新的且发生冲突可能性更小的保护措施。
In 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.
特别地，他们呼吁联邦政府与西部各州政府进行更紧密的合作，因为这些州政府常常对联邦政府的举措感到不安。同时联邦政府也要和土地所有者进行紧密合作，这些人控制着约95%的小草原松鸡栖息地。
Under the plan, for example, the agency said it would not prosecute landowner 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.
例如，根据一项计划，该管理局称其不会起诉那些非故意地杀死、伤害或干扰小草原松鸡的土地所有者或企业，前提是他们已经签署了一项覆盖全部栖息地的管理计划来修复小草原松鸡的栖息地。
Negotiated by USFWS and the states, the plan requires individuals and businesses that damage habitat as part of their operations to pay into a fund to replace every acre destroyed with 2 new acres of suitable habitat.
该计划由USFWS和西部各州协商制定，它要求因经营需要而破坏栖息地的个人和企业向一个基金支付罚款，每有一英亩栖息地遭到破坏，该基金就会购买两英亩新的栖息地来将其替换。
The fund will also be used to compensate landowners who set aside habitat, USFWS also set an interim goal of restoring prairie chicken populations to an annual average of 67,000 birds over the next 10 years.
该基金也会被用于补偿那些主动留出栖息地的土地所有者。USFWS也设定了一个中期目标，即在未来十年，将小草原松鸡的数量恢复到平均每年67,000只的水平。
And it gives the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), a coalition of state agencies, the job of monitoring progress.
并且该管理局将监督目标实施进程的任务交给了西部鱼类及野生动植物管理局协会，该协会是西部各州鱼类及野生动植物管理局的联合体。
Overall, the idea is to let "states" remain in the driver's seat for managing the species," Ashe said.
总之，阿什称：“该计划的目的是让“各州”负责管理小草原松鸡。”
Not everyone buys the win-win rhetoric.
并不是所有人都买这个鼓吹双赢计划的账。
Some Congress members are trying to block the plan,
一些国会议员正试图阻止该计划，
and at least a dozen industry groups, four states, and three environmental groups are challenging it in federal court.
此外，至少有十二个行业集团、四个州和三个环保组织将向联邦法院起诉来撤销这个计划。
Not surprisingly, industry groups and states generally argue it goes too far; environmentalists say it doesn't go far enough.
行业集团和州政府认为该计划的措施太过火了；而环保主义者却说该计划做得还不够，这一点毫不奇怪。
"The federal government is giving responsibility for managing the bird to the same industries that are pushing it to extinction," says biologist Jay Lininger.
生物学家杰伊·利宁格说：“联邦政府这是把管理小草原松鸡的责任交给那些正把它推向灭绝的行业。”
