Law360, New York ( November 25, 2014, 11:18 AM EST) -- In the first salvo of a larger environmental industry showdown impacting Western shale development, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Nov. 12, 2014, that the Gunnison Sage Grouse would be granted endangered-species protection as a "threatened" class. However, the real impact lies in the future treatment of the Greater Sage-Grouse, a related species, whose historic range extends across 11 Western states. The decision raised the stakes as to whether voluntary habitat restoration efforts would pay off, or whether the federal government would impose restrictions on economic development. With a court ordered decision due in September 2015, high noon rapidly approaches....