Endangered Species > Greater Sage Grouse

Greater Sage Grouse

As Rachel Carson observed more than forty years ago in her book, Silent Spring, "the sage and the grouse seem made for each other. The original range of the bird coincided with the range of the sage, and as the sagelands have been reduced, so the populations of grouse have declined." The historic range of sage grouse included parts of sixteen Western states and three Canadian provinces. However, since 1900 sage grouse populations have been reduced as their sagebrush habitat has been destroyed, degraded, and fragmented by a plethora of human activities. The species no longer occurs in Arizona, British Columbia, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Sage grouse have declined as much as 45-80 percent over the past 20 years, and the total population is now estimated at 140,000 individuals, representing only about eight percent of their historic numbers.

Destructive land uses continue on both public and private lands, despite warnings of their impacts on sage grouse and sagebrush habitat, and irrespective of efforts by state and local "working groups" to reverse current trends. The Bush Administration's national energy plan prioritizes oil and gas development in sage grouse habitat in Montana and Wyoming—the heart of sage grouse range—despite known and foreseeable impacts on sage grouse. Public lands livestock grazing continues on parched shrublands in Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada and Utah, despite the ongoing drought, which scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey worry may be the worst in 500 years. For five years the Bureau of Land Management has failed to adopt a management plan for cheatgrass on public lands (the Great Basin Initiative), a fire-loving non-native weed that has invaded nearly 25 million acres in the Great Basin. Whatever sage grouse habitat remains is fragmented by roads, fencelines, and utility corridors; destroyed by mining or off-road vehicles; grazed by livestock; sprayed with herbicides and pesticides; burned by wildfire; or consumed by agricultural and municipal development. The sensitive sage grouse cannot tolerate further abuse. The new, seminal report by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, "Conservation of Greater Sage-Grouse and Sagebrush Habitats," confirms the species' plight.

Adding to the species' woes, the sagebrush habitat that sage grouse utterly depend upon continues to be mismanaged by both public and private land managers who fail to appreciate its fragility and importance to a suite of sagebrush species. Sagebrush habitats continue to be the victim of "range improvement" projects that aim to decrease or eliminate sagebrush from large areas via mechanical methods, herbicide application, and intensive fire. These misguided practices factor into the downward spiral of the greater sage grouse. Listing the sage grouse would help effect much needed land management reform, which would likely not occur without the protection afforded by the ESA.

Federal listing for the sage grouse is vital because state and local agencies have failed to protect sage grouse and their sagebrush habitat. While sage grouse numbers have continued to decline, meaningful regulatory mechanisms are virtually non-existent and existing management is inadequate to conserve the bird. Federal land managers, most notably the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), have failed to manage their lands effectively for sage grouse. The agency's focus remains livestock grazing and now energy development, not sage grouse conservation or ecosystem health. Similarly, the Intermountain Region of the U.S. Forest Service is refusing to reexamine its livestock grazing policies in light of the ongoing drought, despite widespread evidence that livestock impacts are amplified during periods of low precipitation.

State wildlife agencies have not done much better. While all states within sage grouse range have completed or are in the process of completing state and local conservation plans, these plans are voluntary, provide no additional mandatory protection for the sage grouse, and are often written by the ranchers, ATV enthusiasts, power companies, industrialists, and wildlife managers responsible for the sage grouse's decline. Only the stringent protections afforded by the ESA will set a minimum baseline for protection and require the changes in behavior required to save the species.

Lewis and Clark reported seeing sage grouse during their journey to the Pacific coast, calling them "the cock of the plains." Native American tribes subsisted on sage grouse, and created costumes and dances to emulate their magnificent spring mating rituals. Settlers reported clouds of sage grouse so thick that when roused to flight they darkened the sky. Saving this species is saving the West, and preserving our inheritance for future generations. The wide-ranging grouse is also an umbrella species for the Sagebrush Sea. Listing the grouse would benefit other imperiled sagebrush obligate species, such as pygmy rabbit, mountain quail, slickspot peppergrass, white-tailed prairie dog, and southern Idaho ground squirrel. In addition, a variety of other species are integrally linked with this habitat and would benefit from sage grouse listing, including sage thrasher, Brewer's sparrow, sage sparrow, sagebrush lizard and sagebrush vole.

For specific questions about our efforts to protect endangered species, contact Dr. Nicole Rosmarino, endangered species program director.