NY wants to bolster numbers of rare spruce grouse

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York officials are pitching a plan to boost populations of one of the state's rare birds.

The Department of Environmental Conservation is asking for public comment on its proposals to expand the range of the spruce grouse, which is on the state's endangered bird list.

The grouse stands about 15 to 17 inches high. It is found across northern North America in forests of coniferous trees. It was common in Herkimer, Hamilton and Franklin counties in the late 1800s. But the bird is limited now to scattered sits in the Adirondacks, mostly because of logging.

The state wants to promote maintaining stands of 20-to-40-year-old spruce preferred by the grouse. It also wants to investigate bringing in wild birds from other states or Canada to increase the population.