Western Governors: We’ve Taken Meaningful Steps to Protect the Sage Grouse
A male sage grouse is known for its elaborate courtship displays. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
In a new report, the Western Governors’ Association says state and local action to protect habitats should be adequate to avoid having the bird designated an endangered species.
Listing the greater sage grouse under the federal Endangered Species Act would diminish the level of new voluntary efforts to protect the bird and harm the economy in western U.S. states, a group of governors argues in a report released on Thursday.
In its 32-page “Sage-Grouse Inventory,” the Western Governors’ Association chronicled work in 11 states during 2014 to preserve the grouse and its habitat.
The report notes that if these voluntary conservation efforts continue, they will be adequate to protect the bird, which has experienced steep population declines.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to make a decision on Sept. 30 about whether the bird warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act.
"Western Governors are committed to conserving greater sage-grouse," Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead said in a statement released with the report. "What we’re trying to do is prevent the sage-grouse from being listed. Private landowners, industry and conservationists are working with state and federal agencies with the goal of ensuring a healthy grouse population."
Whether the ground-dwelling bird winds up listed under the act has major implications for land use and, in turn, industries such as oil, gas and ranching.
The Western Energy Alliance says on its website that listing the bird would “place vast energy resources off limits.”
Among the highlights in Thursday’s report:
- An executive order Montana Gov. Steve Bullock issued in 2014 establishing a statewide greater sage grouse habitat conservation program.
- Private landowners working with the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service to improve sagebrush habitat for the bird across 400,000 acres by removing conifers.
- And approximately $2 million the Wyoming state legislature awarded for sage grouse research.
The greater sage grouse is known for the male’s elaborate courtship displays, which involve strutting on a breeding ground known as a “lek.”
Although it is the largest North American grouse species, the bird now only occupies about 56 percent of its historical range, which consists of semi-arid scrubland, according to a 2013 report the U.S. FIsh & Wildlife Service prepared in conjunction with state agencies.
Population estimates for the bird vary widely, but the federal agency has referenced estimates made between 1998 and 2007 that ranged from 100,000 to 515,000 birds. The agency points to historical population estimates for the bird that are between 1.6 million to 16 million.
Among the factors contributing to the bird’s habitat loss are wildfires, the spread of conifers such as junipers into sageland—the greater sage grouse tends to avoid areas where the trees are abundant—grazing and urbanization, according to the 2013 Fish & Wildlife report.
That report also says that energy industry activities can significantly reduce, and in some localized areas, completely destroy sage grouse populations.
The report from the Governors’ Association points to Western Energy Alliance members have have taken steps to bolster grouse protection like contributing to conservation funds, and creating buffer zones around leks.
Alliance members, the governors’ report said, reported spending more than $6.5 million since 2004 on sage grouse conservation efforts.