Gov. Hickenlooper wants Western Slope counties to drop their lawsuit against the government’s sage grouse plan and instead try to talk through the problem.

But isn’t that what prompted the lawsuit? We talked, the government didn’t listen, and now we have this mess.

Hickenlooper aide John Swartout tells the Daily Sentinel that Hick has been meeting with governors from Nevada and Wyoming to find a way to avoid litigation.

“Our message was fix the plans but don’t scrap them. Don’t just jettison them,” Swartout said.

It wasn’t the counties intention to kill the government’s sage grouse plan outright, but what would happen if that occurred?

A new listing process would begin, but this time under a Trump administration that is friendlier towards ranchers and the energy industry.

Somehow, we think that if Clinton were president, Hick wouldn’t be sending out his people to try and talk Western Slope counties out of the lawsuit.

To Garfield, Moffat, Jackson and Rio Blanco Counties, we say, carry on.