Sage-grouse
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Collaborations and partnerships are increasingly recognized as essential for effective natural resource conservation. In fact, the collaborative partnerships that developed from 2010 to 2015 have been recognized as a key reason why the greater sage-grouse was kept off the federal endangered species list. Whether partnerships between federal and state agencies with private landowners, restoration projects coordinated between non-profit groups and land management agencies, or the thousands of hours negotiating state sage-grouse conservation plans, the collaborative efforts across the West were – and still are – unprecedented.
The greater sage-grouse (hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New scientific information augments existing knowledge and can help inform updates or modifications to existing plans for managing GRSG and sagebrush ecosystems. However, the sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has reviewed and summarized the scientific literature published since January 1, 2015.
To identify articles and reports published about GRSG, we first conducted a structured search of three reference databases (Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar) using the search term “greater sage-grouse.” We refined the initial list of products by (1) removing duplicates, (2) excluding products that were not published as research or scientific review articles in peer-reviewed journals or as formal government technical reports, and (3) retaining only those products for which GRSG or their habitat was a research focus.
In October 2017, after a review of the 2015 Federal plans relative to State sage-grouse plans, in accordance with Secretarial Order 3353, the BLM issued a notice of intent to consider whether to amend some, all, or none of the 2015 land use plans. At that time, the BLM requested the USGS to inform this effort through the development of an annotated bibliography of sage-grouse science published since January 2015 and a report that synthesized and outlined the potential management implications of this new science. Development of the annotated bibliography resulted in the identification and summarization of 169 peer-reviewed scientific publications and reports. The USGS then convened an interagency team (hereafter referred to as the “team”) to develop this report that focuses on the primary topics of importance to the ongoing management of sage-grouse and their habitats.
The team developed this report in a three-step process. First, the team identified six primary topic areas for discussion based on the members’ collective knowledge regarding sage-grouse, their habitats, and threats to either or both. Second, the team reviewed all the material in the Annotated Bibliography of Scientific Research on Greater Sage-Grouse Published since January 2015 to identify the science that addressed the topics. Third, team members discussed the science related to each topic, evaluated the consistency of the science with existing knowledge before 2015, and summarized the potential management implications of this science. The six primary topics identified by the team were:
- Multiscale habitat suitability and mapping tools
- Discrete anthropogenic activities
- Diffuse activities
- Fire and invasive species
- Restoration effectiveness
- Population estimation and genetics
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Abstracts of Recent Papers on Range Management in the West. Prepared by Charlie Clements, Rangeland Scientist, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Reno, NV.
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Bureau of Land Management describes the challenge that its staff and a partnership of private landowners, state agencies, conservation groups and more took on when deciding to cooperatively manage a landscape for sage-grouse. What developed is the Bates Hole Juniper Treatment Project.
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The daily probability of a male sage-grouse moving among leks ranged 0.003 in 2011 to 0.010 in 2013, indicating high daily lek fidelity throughout the season, although there was a 5–42% chance annually a male would move at least once to another lek throughout the season. Interlek movement probabilities were strongly affected by day of year, peaking early in the lek season. Interlek movements were positively associated with elevation. Seasonal interlek movements occurred more frequently than previously reported, and can bias lek counts in early spring as males move from low to high elevation leks, which reinforces interlek movements as a critical component of lek ecology.
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Sage grouse are the ‘canary in the coal mine’ that herald how this vital ecosystem is faring. These birds rely entirely on sagebrush-dominated landscapes: it’s their primary food source, their breeding grounds, their chick-rearing sites, their safe zones from hungry predators.
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Through one case study in Lake County, Oregon, we examined voluntary landowner conservation as part of an Oregon-wide strategy to preclude listing of greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We focused, in particular, on features of program offerings for sage-grouse conservation that motivated participation of private landowners engaged in cattle production. In October 2016 and spring of 2017, we conducted 23 total interviews with Lake County landowners, governmental and nongovernmental (NGO) staff in Lake County, and governmental and NGO actors at the state level.
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Sage-grouse obtain resources for breeding, summer, and winter life stages from sagebrush communities. Grazing can change the productivity, composition, and structure of herbaceous plants in sagebrush communities, thus directly influencing the productivity of nesting and early brood-rearing habitats. Indirect influences of livestock grazing and ranching on sage-grouse habitat include fencing, watering facilities, treatments to increase livestock forage, and targeted grazing to reduce fine fuels. To illustrate the relative value of sagebrush habitats to sage-grouse on year-round and seasonal bases, we developed state and transition models to conceptualize the interactions between wildfire and grazing in mountain and Wyoming big sagebrush communities. In some sage-grouse habitats, targeted livestock grazing may be useful for reducing fine fuels produced by annual grasses. We provide economic scenarios for ranches that delay spring turnout on public lands to increase herbaceous cover for nesting sage-grouse. Proper rangeland management is critical to reduce potential negative effects of livestock grazing to sage-grouse habitats.
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The experience Squaw Valley Ranch has had with fire, livestock grazing, and sage grouse centers on management strategy and flexibility. Squaw Valley Ranch and the BLM Elko District have a monitoring program that allows for year-to-year adaptations of the grazing plan, as well as long-term
planning for goals and assessment of goal achievement.