The Sage Grouse Crisis has Reached Critical Mass

[Eric Albus]

Hmmm. I worked one year as a park ranger at the Bear Paw Battlefield outside Chinook. Snake Creek runs through the site and mosquitoes can be bad for a couple weeks during the year ... if the wind isn't blowing forty miles an hour ... which it almost always was. Unlike my notoriously lazy predecessor, I was out at the battlefield almost every day walking the trail, mowing the grass, giving talks, cleaning the johns, checking the fences, painting, etc. Mosquitoes could be bad some days but I've sure seen a lot worse (visit Alaska in July!). I never found a dead bird of any sort. Not one. And that place was teaming with pheasants.

They don’t have mosquitoes in the Bear Paws, not like Saco Montana does.

 

[Eric Albus]

It ain't the Milk until you're a pint of two low. And that's a scientific fact.

As others have mentioned, WNV is a factor, so if you had your magic wand, tell us how to mitigate for it. It becomes much more of an issue with produced water such as standing irrigation water & well waste water.

As for corvids being in greater numbers, that's a fact as well. I remember growing up and never seeing a raven. They were extremely rare outside of towns or dumps. But those animals all flourish on human disturbed habitats. Their ability to adapt is far greater than sage grouse. So the cause of increased corvids is disturbed habitat, and the proper response is to increase habitat restoration rather than trying to kill all of the corvids or anything else that eats a grouse egg. That's essentially like trying to dig a hole in the ocean.

Eric very well could have seen good numbers on occasion. That doesn't mean that the bird is doing well across it's range, or that populations aren't consistently trending down. Some spots I hunt have little habitat disturbance, but their numbers are way down, for example.

UT bird populations are in the tank. WY populations are in the tank, same with ID, CO, WA, OR. TCP has a good explanation of the reports we see. It's from Sept, so a little dated, but their chief scientist is pretty spot on with a lot of this. https://www.trcp.org/2020/09/11/making-sense-sage-grouse-population-reports/

In the end, it all boils down to habitat. Improving habitat, conserving habitat, designating it as wildlife refuges, ensuring those who denude habitat make it right, etc would do far more to restore grouse populations that the ham-fisted approach of trying to kill ravens & battle mosquitoes.

The habitat in NE Mt and SE Mt hasn’t changed much in my lifetime. The range is
in better condition that it was in the 70’s.
One thing that I’ve noticed in SE Mt is the die off of the old growth Sage, and the regeneration it’s going through. The new growth Sage and greasewood have vibrant color. New growth has protein and I’m seeing good numbers of sagies and increased antler production on mule deer and better horn growth on the antelope. Does/fawns are in better shape than 8-10 yrs ago. I realize this is a microcosm and there are habitat issues in other places.
In the studies I’ve ready the arial predators are hurting Sage grouse more than most want to admit. Until the gift that keeps on giving(1080) is legal again to use I won’t expect to see the bird rebound in most places.

 

[Ben Lamb]

The habitat in NE Mt and SE Mt hasn’t changed much in my lifetime. The range is
in better condition that it was in the 70’s.
One thing that I’ve noticed in SE Mt is the die off of the old growth Sage, and the regeneration it’s going through. The new growth Sage and greasewood have vibrant color. New growth has protein and I’m seeing good numbers of sagies and increased antler production on mule deer and better horn growth on the antelope. Does/fawns are in better shape than 8-10 yrs ago. I realize this is a microcosm and there are habitat issues in other places.
In the studies I’ve ready the arial predators are hurting Sage grouse more than most want to admit. Until the gift that keeps on giving(1080) is legal again to use I won’t expect to see the bird rebound in most places.

The lack of multi-aged succession in sage brush communities is range wide. That comes from failed agri-practicises of chaining the landscape for better livestock forage. Again - human disturbed habitat leading to an increase in corvids.

1080 nearly wiped out eagles & other raptors. It poisoned streams & caused all kinds of problems. I don't think advocating for poisoning the earth is a method of management that the USFWS will endorse, and they have repeatedly said that predation is not the underlying issue, and while you can seek a permit to try it, few have, and those that have - have seen little in the way of long-term results. Plus, it's a lot of money that states won't spend.

Better habitat mgt, the thing we've all been saying is needed for mule deer, elk, bighorns, etc, benefits sage grouse too. MDF had thesaying that "what's good for the bird is good for the herd." That's 100% accurate. And it benefits public land grazing.

But chasing after 1080 & killing corvids leads to a listing.

Take your pick.

 

[Eric Albus]

The lack of multi-aged succession in sage brush communities is range wide. That comes from failed agri-practicises of chaining the landscape for better livestock forage. Again - human disturbed habitat leading to an increase in corvids.

1080 nearly wiped out eagles & other raptors. It poisoned streams & caused all kinds of problems. I don't think advocating for poisoning the earth is a method of management that the USFWS will endorse, and they have repeatedly said that predation is not the underlying issue, and while you can seek a permit to try it, few have, and those that have - have seen little in the way of long-term results. Plus, it's a lot of money that states won't spend.

Better habitat mgt, the thing we've all been saying is needed for mule deer, elk, bighorns, etc, benefits sage grouse too. MDF had thesaying that "what's good for the bird is good for the herd." That's 100% accurate. And it benefits public land grazing.

But chasing after 1080 & killing corvids leads to a listing.

Take your pick.

Agreed. I’m not advocating a return of 1080, but it worked wonders for non predatory wildlife .

 

[OntarioHunter]

They don’t have mosquitoes in the Bear Paws, not like Saco Montana does.

I know what Saco is like. I stay there at least a week every fall hunting birds. One of my former coworkers at the plant owned a farm at Hinsdale (sadly, he passed away last summer). I hunted his place a lot ... as did anyone else who signed in at the box. I also hit the WMAs in the area and various chunks of state land.

Obviously, I didn't live at the battlefield (there's not even a visitor center at the site). Please don't tell me the mosquitoes aren't bad along Snake Creek! Or in Chinook where I lived. My house was a few blocks away from the Milk River. The only dead bird I ever found was one of those damn Eurasion doves and I'm pretty sure one of my neighbours popped it with a pellet gun. Not saying West Nile wasn't killing birds but if they are laying dead by the "dozens" around your place at Hinsdale, why didn't I see any at Chinook?

 

[Ben Lamb]

Agreed. I’m not advocating a return of 1080, but it worked wonders for non predatory wildlife .

It didn't do anything to control cheatgrass, etc.

And the idea that it helped other critters ignores the reality of what poisoning the ground actually does.

 

[kwyeewyk]

This kind of rhetoric is just as damaging to sage-grouse (wildlife) conservation as the far left environmental groups who also can't see past their own noses. Yes grouse and other species are used as pawns for political purposes and that's wrong, but it doesn't change the reality of the threats or mean that we should walk away from recovery efforts. If resource industries come to the table and collaborate there's a lot more chance of real progress for all, especially when it can be done before species are listed.

 

[OntarioHunter]

It didn't do anything to control cheatgrass, etc.

And the idea that it helped other critters ignores the reality of what poisoning the ground actually does.

Ben, you better look at 1080 a bit closer. The stuff is water soluble and breaks down almost immediately in the soil. The countries Down Under have done extensive studies and the long term environmental effects of "poisoning the ground" are pretty minimal if not nil. Apparently the short term effects aren't much either. Not a nice way for the subjected animals to die but animals/birds are going to die one way or the other. Some critters, particularly exotic invasives or species that can better take advantage of human altering the landscape, can be particularly hard to bring back into balance. Do I advocate poisoning? No. But it should be available as a last resort. Would it make a difference for sage hens? It might. I guess that would depend on research. Hard to do any research if the stuff is banned outright.

 

[88man]

WNV birds typically die late summer or early fall.
In ruffed grouse some local populations in NY State have immunity or partial immunity. In parts of eastern pa the immunity has not been seen and populations have crashed.

 

[1_pointer]

Chaining can create very effective, high quality GSG habitat. Lots has to do with the design (mosaic vs large blocks) and implementation (weight/size of chain). These work great as well and while it takes more diesel, a mosaic design is easier.

One other thing to consider is we had way more deer and supposedly (counts were less intensive/common then) GSG when we had "poorer" range conditions than we see in many places today. Along with more domestic sheep on public lands...

 

[Chief_Wak]

Not a big grouse hunter or anything but that’s largely in part due to that there are none in my area (central MN). But it just seems alarming how 10 years ago when hunting the pond for waterfowl or deer hunting next to my grandparents you would hear maybe a grouse or 2 on a calm day once or twice a year and now I havnt heard one in atleast 8 years and assume they are all but gone. When my dad was a senior in high school him and his brothers would shoot over 100 pheasants a few grouse and a few dozen Hungarian partridge. The partridge have been gone for atleast 20 or so years and pheasants dropped off now and you had a damn good hunt and have to work hard to come home with a pheasant. There isn’t near the upland hunters anymore and the winters have been warm recently with decent springs so it’s weird that nothing can seem to make a big comeback

 

[Shangobango]

Really well done article about sage Grouse, and what's happening to those big expanses of public land we all love:

The Sage Grouse Crisis has Reached Critical Mass

Sage grouse numbers are worse than we thought; the crisis is symbolic of the American political divide and is on the way to catastrophe.

projectupland.com

Not sure how I am just finding this.

Very interesting read. I plan on checking out some of the podcasts listed in the article.

Thanks for posting it up.

 

[WYelker]

I have no doubt the number one destructive thing to the ranges I hunt… Feral horses and their overpopulations. It is sad to see what the horses have done to the sage and ground in The redesert, Adobe town, powder wash, sand wash, and Douglas areas. Couple the feral invasive horses with low moisture and the weeds and ranges are out of control.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I have no doubt the number one destructive thing to the ranges I hunt… Feral horses and their overpopulations. It is sad to see what the horses have done to the sage and ground in The redesert, Adobe town, powder wash, sand wash, and Douglas areas. Couple the feral invasive horses with low moisture and the weeds and ranges are out of control.

Are they not rounding them up anymore? Ferel horses are an invasive species that can be mega destructive. Just because they have been around a couple hundred years is no excuse to look at them as any less of an environmental hazard than other invasives. No one gives a shit about stomping out cheat grass but big and furry things are something special. I don't get it.

 

[WYelker]

Are they not rounding them up anymore? Ferel horses are an invasive species that can be mega destructive. Just because they have been around a couple hundred years is no excuse to look at them as any less of an environmental hazard than other invasives. No one gives a shit about stomping out cheat grass but big and furry things are something special. I don't get it.

They have not rounded up the needed number of horses for year. They are constantly being sued, fathers are stalled and the holding pens are over ran with excess horses. The HMAs I am familiar with all have fence issues and a lot of horses escaped and on ranges where they are not supposed to be at all. The ranges inside the HMAs are horrible, worst I have seen it in over 20 years of working the areas and it is getting worse.

Sadly the BLM does not have the freedom they need to truly bring balance back to the range. They are essentially pissing on brush fire.

 

[BWALKER77]

I am not convinced that we have a handle on what's happening with sage grouse.

 

[Irrelevant]

BLM pulls 264 parcels from oil and gas lease sale over grouse concerns - WyoFile

BLM cited 'core' sage grouse habitat protections in deferring 264 lease parcels — just one factor in its increasing scrutiny of the leasing program.

wyofile.com

not just 264 parcels but 382,882 acres removed from leasing.

 

[OntarioHunter]

BLM pulls 264 parcels from oil and gas lease sale over grouse concerns - WyoFile

BLM cited 'core' sage grouse habitat protections in deferring 264 lease parcels — just one factor in its increasing scrutiny of the leasing program.

wyofile.com

not just 264 parcels but 382,882 acres removed from leasing.

Damn BLM! That will probably boost the price of gas ... which might make people drive less ... and maybe save the planet a little bit longer.