Westerners: Saving the Sage-grouse will Save a Way of Life

The greater sage-grouse historic range once stretched from Canada to Mexico. Today Western states, conservationists, sportsmen, ranchers and outdoor enthusiasts work to protect the birds remaining habitat. Image: Bureau of Land Management

A mostly ground-dwelling bird whose courtship strut draws bird watchers to wind-strafed sagebrush lands in the West is at the heart of a fight for a cherished landscape and all the species that live there.

The greater sage-grouse once numbered as high as 16 million across its historic range, from Canada to Mexico. Overgrazing, drought, wildfires, energy development, urbanization and conversion of rangeland to crops during several decades have reduced and degraded the bird’s habitat. Its current total population is estimated from 500,000 to 200,000 on about 173 million acres — half its historic range — in 11 Western states.

Save the bird, save the herd.

Pronghorn have the longest land migration in the continental United States. Each year pronghorn travel across miles of sagebrush country. Image: John Hottman

And what’s bad for the bird is bad for the herd. More than 350 other species, including mule deer, elk, pronghorn and golden eagles, live in sagebrush country and face similar threats to their habitat.

But all is not bleak on the Western sagebrush front. Wildlife biologists have reported increases in the number of sage-grouse chicks in Wyoming, home to about 37 percent of the overall population. More than 1,000 ranches are working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to conserve more than 4 million acres of sage-grouse habitat on private land.

The major turning point was a landmark decision a year ago by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that work by private landowners, communities, state and local agencies and nonprofits had eased threats facing the greater sage-grouse enough so the bird didn’t need to be added to the endangered species list. Also playing into the Sept. 22, 2015, decision were conservation plans unveiled by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to protect sage-grouse on public lands, roughly half the bird’s habitat.

Another milestone in the campaign to keep sage-grouse strutting on their leks, or breeding grounds, is the recent release of guidelines to carry out the BLM and Forest Service conservation plans.

Westerners rallying for sage-grouse

In September 2015 U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the decision made by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to not list the Greater sage-grouse as endangered based on the conservation plans.

Westerners care about sagebrush country, a hard-working landscape that provides food and shelter for wildlife running the gamut from pygmy rabbits to sagebrush lizards to prairie falcons and bighorn sheep. Ranchers use sagebrush lands to graze their livestock. A report by the Western Values Project shows that recreation on BLM lands in the sagebrush steppe generates about $1 billion in economic benefits each year.

Westerners are ready to give the conservation plans a chance to work. They care about the chicken-sized bird with spiky tail feathers and an elaborate mating ritual.

One more threat to sage-grouse

For the second year in a row, members of the House have inserted a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act to prevent federal agencies from implementing plans to save the bird. Image: WikiCommons

However, it seems greater sage-grouse face one more threat to their survival — obstructionists in Congress and elsewhere who seem intent on derailing what has been called the country’s largest-ever conservation effort. Some oil and gas industry representatives are crying foul over the bird, claiming they’ll be blocked from drilling on public lands. They want the states to be able to give them access to sage-grouse habitat, even on national public lands.

For the second year in a row, members of the House have inserted a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act that would hamstring federal agencies from implementing plans to save sage-grouse and its habitat. The provision’s backers argue safeguards for sage-grouse will interfere with activities on military installations. The Defense Department doesn’t share their concerns, so it looks like sage-grouse are caught in the ideological battle over who should manage public lands — the feds or the state and local governments.

Voices of the Sage

To mark the one-year anniversary of the launch of the historic campaign to conserve sage-grouse, the National Wildlife Federation is showcasing six Westerners who have spoken out for saving the bird, the herd — and a vitally important landscape. The series, “Voices of the Sage,” will run Sept. 16–21 on Medium.

It’s time, say Western sportsmen and women, conservationists, ranchers and business owners who call Sagebrush Country home, to get on with ensuring that greater sage-grouse and the “sagebrush sea” survive and thrive.