Why is the greater sage-grouse so important?

How do sage-grouse perform a booming display?

In preparation for a strutting display, male Greater Sage-Grouse can gulp and hold a gallon of air in a pouch of their esophagus. By squeezing it out with force, they begin their display. The sound from the males’ booming display is actually loudest off to each side, not straight ahead.

How far do sage grouse move?

How far sage grouse move depends on meeting their needs for sagebrush shelter and food. Learn more about the longest known sage grouse migration where the birds move 100 miles from Canada to Montana.

Why the Sage Grouse Initiative?

That’s why the Sage Grouse Initiative emphasizes restoring habitat in the core areas where breeding populations are highest and conservation practices benefits the largest number of birds. Historically, sage grouse ranged over 15 western states and 3 Canadian provinces.

How can we protect Sage Grouse Habitat?

That’s why conserving sage grouse habitat requires thinking big, acting big, and keeping the best of the best large landscapes intact across public and private lands, where ranchers, too, depend on big connected lands for their prosperity and future. What’s Intact? Sage grouse do best with very little human disturbance.

How do invasive conifers affect sage grouse?

A Sage Grouse Initiative analysis (in press) of how invasive conifers affect sage grouse also shows that a very low tolerance of invading junipers or pinyons near leks. After canopy cover exceeded 4 percent, no leks in the study remained active. The authors evaluated 152 leks across four million acres of sage grouse habitat in eastern Oregon.

Why save sage grouse husks?

Today’s focus on saving sage grouse strongholds represents a historic opportunity to conserve and re-vitalize what remains, working cooperatively to achieve win-win solutions for people and wildlife. What’s Large? What do we mean by a large landscape? Home ranges may be more than 600 square kilometers or 230 square miles.

What do sage grouse hens look for?

Sage grouse hens look for sagebrush that’s typically from 29 to 80 cm high (1 to 3 feet high). They scrape out a hollow for a nest under the tallest sagebrush within a stand.

What does sage grouse habitat look like?

Here’s what sage grouse habitat looks like—big and open with a mix of sagebrush, bunchgrasses, and leafy plants.

What is the longest known migration of sage grouse?

The longest known migration of sage grouse connects birds from Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan, Canada, to the Charles M Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana, a 100-mile one-way trek. Read more about that amazing migration.

What’s happening to sage grouse?

Sage grouse face a lot of threats in this wide-open country. Their numbers have fallen from historic levels of millions of birds to somewhere less than 500,000 across the West.

Should there be a border between state lines for sage grouse?

“It really does make very little sense to have high quality habitat and proactive conservation management on one side of the state line, and then to have quite degraded habitat on the other side of the state line because sage grouse are more concerned about water and food than people or boundaries,” Morse said.

How common is sage grouse infestation in Oregon?

“It’s been detected in Oregon just about every year since it showed up,” Foster said. “However, most of those cases have either been in people, in horses, or in mosquitoes trapped near human occupation. And obviously sage grouse don’t live near people.”

Can mosquitoes kill sage grouse?

Mosquitoes can transmit West Nile virus to sage grouse, with deadly consequences. Weidner and Foster are working in an area that’s designated as important habitat for sage grouse, in a spot near Brothers, Oregon. “This is about our western most population of sage grouse in Oregon,” Foster said.

What does a sage grouse bird look like?

Sage grouse may look like birds with simple habitat needs. After all, they’re named for the plant that sustains them most-sagebrush. On closer look their life cycles reveal much more complexity. That helps explain why their numbers have slipped so drastically from millions in pre-settlement days to about 200,000 today.

When did Oregon start monitoring sage grouse populations?

Systematic monitoring of sage grouse populations in Oregon did not begin until the late 1950s and early 1960s. Since that time, populations varied annually until the early to mid-1970s when a decline in productivity was reflected in the number of grouse counted on survey routes.

Where can I see a sage grouse in Oregon?

In the southeastern sagebrush plains of Oregon, the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a year-round target bird for visitors to see. Visiting a lek during the mating season is the best way to see these elusive birds, but birders should be careful not to disturb the birds’ courtship. 3.

Are sage grouse numbers declining near brothers?

Sage grouse numbers across Oregon have gone up and down for about 20 years. But the birds near Brothers have declined over the last five years, something Foster called “concerning.”

How dangerous are mosquitoes to sage grouse in Oregon?

Lee Foster, with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, places a mosquito lure inside a trap. Mosquitoes can transmit West Nile virus to sage grouse, with deadly consequences.

What are the biggest threats to the sage grouse?

One threat that people don’t know much about: the West Nile virus. Most sage grouse that become infected die relatively quickly, which means the virus could kill a lot of birds.

Is the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse returning to Oregon?

By the late 1960’s sharp-tailed grouse were believed to have been extirpated from Oregon. Since its extirpation, personnel of state and federal agencies and by private citizens have expressed interest in the reintroduction of Columbian sharp-tailed grouse into Oregon.

How many grouse have been translocated from Idaho?

As a result of the Committee’s efforts, a total of 230 birds were translocated from southeastern Idaho to Wallowa County, Oregon, between 1991 and 2002. In 2006 introductions were resumed and an additional 87 grouse from both Idaho and Utah have been released.

Is blue grouse still in Oregon?

Oregon is now home to dusky grouse in the north east and sooty grouse in the rest of the state. However, for management purposes the ODFW will continue to refer to these two species collectively as Blue grouse.

Is the sage grouse population increasing in Oregon?

With localized variations, sage grouse have remained relatively stable or have increased over the past 20 years in Oregon. As part of range-wide effort to conserve and manage sage grouse, in August 2005 the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a plan for the management of sage grouse.

Where can I see greater sage grouse in Colorado?

Colorado: Conservation Colorado offers sage grouse tours March 28th to April 13th in NW Colorado out of Craig. They fill up fast. What: Fully guided Greater Sage Grouse lek watch – Only 14 people per trip.

Where can I See Sage-Grouse near Gunnison?

Offered by Sisk-a-dee. Gunnison Sage-grouse predictably use the Waunita Lek, located 19 miles east of Gunnison just north of Hwy 50. Turn north on County Road 887 (Waunita Hot Springs Road) and go 0.6 miles to a small pull-off on the right where you can view the birds.

How can you help protect the sage grouse?

Explore Oregon Wild’s work to protect the wilderness and Eastern forests the Sage Grouse depends on. Look at a map of proposed wilderness areas throughout Oregon that will help ensure the survival of the Sage Grouse. Did you know?

Is West Nile virus endemic to Oregon?

The biologists say West Nile is endemic in Oregon. It was first detected around 2005 – and the next year saw a large die-off of sage grouse that had contracted the virus in the Jordan Valley. Since then, there haven’t been any other significant die-offs of sage grouse.