The last three weeks here in southwest Utah, my fellow CLM intern and I have been busy doing sage grouse habitat assessments. We have bounced around BLM land, set up basic transects and evaluated specific areas to determine what areas in our field office might be good habitat for the elusive sage grouse. Despite covering a lot of acreage, I have yet to see a sage grouse. In a region full of sagebrush and known breeding grounds – known as leks – I hoped to catch a glimpse of one of these uncommon birds.
The greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a large bird, weighing up to seven pounds and reaching 30 inches long. They have a gray-brown speckled body and a black belly patch, which helps distinguish them from other grouse species that can be found in sagebrush. The most common images of sage grouse are the puffed up males, displaying yellow air sacks in their white breasts during breeding displays in the spring.
A male sage grouse in full mating display. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/birds/sagegrouse/
Sage grouse are, as the name suggests, are sagebrush obligates. In the winter, sagebrush is all this grouse eats. It offers important cover from the snow and cold. In warmer months, the grouse nibbles on insects, forbs, and sagebrush. The protein-rich bugs, seeds and herbaceous plants found among healthy sagebrush habitat are critical to juvenile grouse.
The reason why I haven’t spotted a sage grouse yet is because these birds’ numbers are down considerably due to habitat loss and fragmentation. In the areas we have surveyed, the sagebrush habitat is split up by roads, fences, and towns. The bird is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act, a move that would prevent activities such as cattle grazing or energy exploration in areas where the grouse occurs. Boosting sage grouse numbers and protecting its habitat would prevent conflict among stakeholders who still wish to utilize the land, plus it would result in healthier rangelands. Other organisms that depend on sagebrush ecosystems, like mule deer, pygmy rabbits, pronghorn, and sage sparrows would benefit from the protection of sage grouse.
Moving the sage grouse to the Endangered Species Act is a controversial subject. The BLM oversees acres that are for multiple uses; monitoring different species, grazing, recreation, and energy production. Finding a balance between these different land uses and protecting the sage grouse is a challenge, and is bound to spark debate.
As a wildlife intern, I feel strongly about conservation measures. However it is important to remember all the stakeholders involved in this conversation. I do hope that one day while my partner and I are taking inventory of the grasses at a transect we’ll spot one of these elusive birds. Sage grouse are an important part of the American west, and hopefully will be here for many more generations.