Population Modeling for Bi-State Sage-Grouse. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. Sage grouse once numbered in the millions but have seen their range that stretches across portions of 11 states diminished by oil and gas drilling, wildfires, grazing and other pressures. Nevada | Sage grouse are found in fifteen of Nevada's 17 counties, and land use, economics, water use and recreational activities may be adversely affected. These areas are primarily located in priority habitat in the Great Basin states with the highest probability of wildfire occurrence. Sage grouse when alarmed will emit a sharp cackle, "kek-kek-kek". The effort is part of the Bi-State Action Plan, a locally developed blueprint to provide for the long-term conservation of the Bi-State sage-grouse and its habitat. The peak strutting period is March-April. The U.S. It's about protecting both an iconic landscape and a way of life in the West, including jobs, businesses and recreational opportunities. Read more ». Joe Painter (left), South Dakota rancher, and Mitch Faulkner (right), NRCS rangeland management specialist. The sage-grouse are the two species in the bird genus Centrocercus, C. minimus and Centrocercus urophasianus.They are distributed throughout large portions of the north-central and Western United States, as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The study was conducted in southeast Montana, where many traditional landowners have maintained large expanses of intact sagebrush habitat. The importance of sagebrush in the diet of adult greater sage-grouse is great; numerous studies have documented its year-round use. Learn more about the new Sagebrush Ecosystem Curriculum project. The Governor asked the BLM to factor in progress made by public and private partnerships on state and private lands as it considers new protections for grouse on federal land administered by the agency. Read more », DENVER, CO - For more than a decade, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program has been working with landowners to improve key sage-grouse habitats on private property. Sage grouse have declined dramatically in California. DENVER, CO - Governor John Hickenlooper has asked the Bureau of Land management to consider an alternative state-based approach to protecting greater sage-grouse as the federal agency finalizes its Resource Management Plan for northwestern Colorado. Read more », BOISE, ID - Jason Pyron, Sage-Grouse Coordinator for the Idaho Fish & Wildlife Office in Boise, found inspiration for working with young people close to home. CASPER, WY — Wyoming landowners received nearly $77 million in federal funding during the last three years in exchange for conserving more than 1 million acres to protect greater sage-grouse, recently released government figures show. Pyron's mother was a teacher and education administrator and she passed on the joy of watching youngsters experience something spectacular in nature for the first time. South Dakota | Sage grouse hunting is closed for the 2020 season. “This guide can help our conservation partners and customers understand what programs are available – and how to make those programs work forhem.” said USDA Natural Resources and Environment Under Secretary Robert Bonnie.  Read more », PORTLAND, OR – The sage grouse's strutting dance is one of North America's defining wildlife spectacles, and one that few Americans have ever seen. Learn more about what our partners are doing here. A copy of the letter can be found here. Greater sage grouse populations in the eastern Sierra portion of the Bistate area occur throughout sagebrush dominated habitats in Mono County, eastern Alpine County and northern Inyo County in the White Mountains. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a multi-county agreement in the Federal Register that could protect more than two million acres of sage-grouse habitat in eastern Oregon. FOIA. Numbers of this charismatic rangeland bird normally fluctuate by 30 to 40 percent in response to climatic conditions, so rapid increases like the one WAFWA documented between 2013 and 2015 are not unusual. In April, the Service withdrew the Bi-State DPS from the Candidate Species list after a multi-partner collaborative effort addressed the main threats to the population along the Nevada border. Greater sage-grouse in the northeastern corner of the state are in the Northern Great Basin Management Zone. The sage grouse, or "sage hen" as it is commonly called, is the largest native grouse in North America. State pages: The Service has determined that protection for the greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act is no longer warranted and is withdrawing the species from the candidate species list.  The poll, conducted by Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies and Democratic polling firm Benenson Strategy Group, was commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts. On the basis of this science, the BLM will manage habitat on public lands in Lassen, Modoc, Plumas and Sierra counties using provisions for similar habitat in Nevada. The greatest abundance of sage grouse are found in a combination of sagebrush, perennial grassland or wet meadow, and water. Accessibility | Read more », Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has announced $10 million in funding for projects aimed at restoring the health of tens of millions of acres of public land to improve its ability to withstand wildfire.The 2015 Wildfire Resilient Landscapes Program makes significant investments in protecting sagebrush landscapes, including Sheldon-Hart National Wildlife Refuge.Other projects will benefit greater sage-grouse in western Idaho, the Bi-State sage-grouse in California and Nevada, and the Gunnison sage-grouse in southwest Colorado. Male greater sage-grouse perform on a lek. The Trump administration changes would have affected public land in Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California and Oregon. The Bi-State population of Greater Sage-grouse straddles the borders of California and Nevada. As fire season heats up across this drought-stricken region, Interior Department agencies have rolled out a new strategy that includes pre-positioned air tankers, equipment and crews to respond more quickly to ignitions to keep small fires from getting out of control. Credit: Jeannie Stafford/USFWS. In 2017, the Fish and Game Commission adopted quotas of zero for all sage grouse hunting zones due to declining population estimates conducted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and this closure remains in effect. Sage grouse once numbered in the millions but have seen their range that stretches across portions of 11 states diminished by oil and gas drilling, wildfires, grazing and other pressures. A greater sage-grouse male. Read more », MISSOULA, MT – A new guide to fish and wildlife conservation programs in the 2014 Farm Bill is now available to aid wildlife managers who work with landowners and ag producers to improve soil health, water quality, as well as fish and wildlife habitat on private land. New research from the University of Montana and The Nature Conservancy found that not only do lekking grouse avoid croplands, every 10 percent increase in crops results in a 50 percent decrease in lek density. Credit: Theo Stein/USFWS. Sage grouse territory in … Sage grouse select sagebrush species differentially. Young sage grouse are excellent eating and are considered a prized game bird by those who hunt them. Saving them might require overcoming our fear of chemicals in wild places. | Read more », DENVER, CO - The U.S. Privacy | "We have always believed there is no inherent contradiction between production and conservation," said rancher Pat O'Toole. This means these investments benefit large sage-grouse populations along with hundreds of other wildlife species, including economically important big game such as mule deer, pronghorn and elk. Greater sage-grouse. PORTLAND, OR – Oregon ranchers are embracing an opportunity to further conservation for the greater sage-grouse while working together with the U.S. Read more », Tags: Top News, National, National Partners, PORTLAND, OR- While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a new tool to help ensure that mitigation plans developed by agencies and others pursuing development near greater sage-grouse are consistent and effective in protecting the ground-dwelling bird’s sagebrush habitat. Find the perfect sage grouse california stock photo. Montana | Greater sage-grouse are an icon of the American West, their booming mating calls at dawn a signature of the great sagebrush sea that covers much of that region.. As its name suggests, the bird relies on this habitat to survive. Have you ever seen a sage-grouse strut? Read more », Tags: Top News, National Partner, Oregon, Oregon Partner, ONTARIO, OR- The Oregon Cattlemen's Association is lending its support to an innovative way to raise money to conserve habitat for sagebrush species, including the greater sage-grouse. USDA also announced that,it will commit another $200 million to sage-grouse conservation work over the next four years.Read more», Tags: Top News, National Partner, Oregon News, Oregon Partner, HARNEY COUNTY, OR- In 2014, ranchers in Harney County, Oregon, signed a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) with the U.S. Lek Cam Offers Streaming Video of the Sage-Grouse Strut, Download the Final Montana Greater Sage-Grouse and Declining Grassland Songbirds Programmatic Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances, Download the Final Environmental Assessment, Download the Findings and Recommendations, Download the Findings of No Significant Impact and Response to Public Comments, Download the Draft Montana Greater Sage-Grouse and Declining Grassland Songbirds Programmatic Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances, Download the Draft Environmental Assessment, Download the Federal Register Notice of Availability/Request for Comment, frequently asked questions and their answers here, emerged as the greatest threat to sage-grouse, East Walker Landscape Habitat Improvement Project, Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trus, North American Bird Conservation Initiative, 29th Western Agencies Sage and Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Workshop, third inventory of programs and initiatives, Letter from Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, Inventory of State and Local Governments’ Conservation Initiatives for Sage-Grouse. In California and Nevada, the bistate sage grouse is also experiencing habitat disturbance from livestock grazing, roads and invasive species. Read more ». For additional information, contact the Field Supervisor for the Montana Ecological Services Field Office at 406-449-5225. Greater sage-grouse in Antelope Valley, California, … Credit: Jeannie Stafford/USFWS. Steve Bullock and the chief of the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service will streamline efforts to conserve privately owned working rangelands that provide habitat for sage grouse. Read more », Tags: Top News, Colorado News, Colorado Partner, KREMMLING, CO – The Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust recently conserved one of the state's most spectacular working ranches in the state's high country by completing a 995-acre conservation easement with the Yust family along the Colorado and Blue Rivers in Grand County. "American ranchers are working with us to help sage-grouse because they know they are helping an at-risk bird while also improving the food available for their livestock," said Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie said.. "As the saying goes, 'What's good for the bird is good for the herd.'" The Greater Sage-Grouse is one of North America’s most fascinating, and threatened, birds. The Greater Sage-Grouse is well named, for it is quite dependent on sagebrush. But in California out CDFW waits until midway through August to decide if they are going to have a sage grouse hunt. – and sodbusting is the single greatest threat to grouse. TWIN FALLS, ID – A workshop hosted by the Sage Grouse Initiative gave state ranchers an opportunity to learn how working together to protect sage-grouse produces results for their bottom lines. Sage-grouse conservation happens on the ground. A webinar on August 6 will explain how to apply this new tool. BISMARK, ND - Results from North Dakota’s spring sage-grouse survey indicate the number of strutting males remains well below management objectives. Landowners, in return, agree to place conservation easements or implement environmentally responsible land management practices on their properties. Greater sage-grouse and Gunnison sage-grouse are closely related, charismatic ambassadors for the Sagebrush Sea, a critically important western landscape that supports hundreds of fish and wildlife species. Credit: USFWS, Tags: North Dakota, Partner News, FR Notices. Photo credit: Rick Bohn. The lost plumage matters little to the males, but the genetic material in their feathers will give researchers new insights into the secret lives of these iconic sagebrush dwellers. Idaho | Read more », BEND, Ore. - Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell joined Oregon Governor Kate Brown and U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary Ann Mills to announce that all landowners in the eight Eastern and Central Oregon counties with greater sage-grouse habitat are now eligible to enroll their property in a voluntary conservation program that would benefit the large prairie grouse and provide assurances that no additional regulatory measures will be required if the bird is protected under the Endangered Species Act. “Stories from the Range”, a new report by the Sand County Foundation, highlights the accomplishments of ranchers working with local, state and federal partners to restore and protect 4.4 million acres of prime sage grouse habitat – an area of working lands twice the size of Yellowstone National Park.Read more », CHEYENNE, WY – The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service released final land use plans for public lands in 10 western states that will help to conserve greater sage-grouse habitat and support continued economic development. Ninety-nine percent of the Lander area is habitat for the species and 70 percent of the planning area is identified as priority habitat warranting special protection. Partners staff help develop grazing plans, improve wetlands and wet meadows, control invasive species and provide technical support for rangeland projects that also increase forage for big game herds and cattle operations in the Service's Mountain-Prairie, Pacific and Pacific-Southwest regions. In a recent letter to Interior Department Secretary Sally Jewell, western governors offered their third inventory of programs and initiatives that the states are undertaking to preserve greater sage-grouse populations. It's a recipe for success that's paying big dividends across the West. Credit: Colorado.gov. Read more », MISSOULA, MT - A new study by top sage-grouse researchers underscores the importance of wet meadows and riparian areas on private lands to the success of breeding sage-grouse. Lynn Boulton, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit group Keep Long Valley Green, supports local efforts aimed at “making it work to have both cattle grazing and sage grouse …