Feds keep Preble's mouse on threatened list

The federal government will continue to protect as a threatened species a mouse that lives in Wyoming and Colorado. The state of Wyoming and the group Coloradoans for Water Conservation had long-standing petitions to remove the Preble's meadow jumping mouse from Endangered Species Act protection. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday that following a review, the Preble's mouse will remain listed as a threatened species. The Preble's mouse has an unusually long tail and can jump long distances but is very similar to other subspecies of jumping mice. The mouse first was listed as threatened in 1998. For a time, the Preble's mouse was protected in Colorado but not Wyoming. A judge ruled that the mouse couldn't be protected in one state and not the other.