Ken Salazar has a teleconference scheduled for 11:30 mountain time today to announce the Interior's decision of whether to list the greater sage grouse under the ESA. If listed, the decision would have far-reaching consequences in The West, particuarly for energy development.
None of the experts I've spoken to will guess the outcome.
I'm guessing they'll determine the bird is "Threatened" and favor the current core habitat strategy with more stringent regulations.
Greater sage grouse have been in decline since the 50's, and experienced very rapid decline in the last decade. Once numbering 16 million birds, the current population is around 200,000, and more than half the birds are in Wyoming. Other sage obligate species like Brewer's sparrow, sage sparrow and sage thrasher have also declined correspondingly. Much of the core sage grouse habitat overlaps with gas drilling and wind projects. The short explanation for the rapid decline is fragmentation in all of its forms.
Posted by Roger Rouch on March 5, 2010 at 12:04 PM
The was a very good article in the High Country News about wind power issues in Wyoming including a discussion about this. Most of the sage grouse discussion is on page 6, and some suggest that without ESA protection the days of sage grouse in Wyoming could end.
Just in: No ESA listing. Listing for GSG is "warranted but precluded" and the status will be reviewed yearly. Interior Secretary Salazar is working to balance development interests with conservation. Conservationists are calling for more aggressive efforts to preserve core habitat. Next up: Gunnison Sage Grouse listing decision on 6/30/10. GuSG are expected to be listed under the ESA - 2,500 birds reamain in the wild and almost all of them are in the Gunnison Basin.
It's really a good news situation - everyone involved - land managers, extraction industry, developers, wind companies and western stakeholders will be responsible for preserving habitat and managing our lands for the recovery of the species. GSG's spend their whole life in sage and are an umbrella species for other creatures that spend significant time in sagebrush habitat. In short, if we protect core sagebrush habitat, we preserve a host of species. It's worthy to note that we are mostly talking about public lands - our lands, and management for multiple use. It's aggravating to me that when we talk about the bird, we rarely talk about the biome, the entire Intermountain West. Some of the same folks that damn the grouse, lament the decline of mule deer and loss of hunting oppportunities. It's all part of the same problem and should be seen as an opportunity to bring people together. I realize there are folks out there that hate the ESA, but it's the best tool we have available for bringing about responsible land management - I've seen it first hand in Gunnison, where all stakeholders have come together to manage as if the Gunnison sage grouse were listed and save the bird. It's one of the great stories in The West!
Dave that is a great GSG shot! Was that shot just south of Walden? The news seems to be good! I think it is important that everyone is involved in making our public lands not only available to the public but also preserve the natural habitat that resided there long before we did.
Yep, just south of Walden. After getting snowed out of 4 attempts in Wyoming, I followed Don Grall's lead and photographed in North Park the first week of May.That's a little late for SG, plenty of males, but most of the females had taken care of business and lost interest in what the boys were doing. Lek activity starts the last week of March and peaks around mid-April.
Discussion
8 repliesNone of the experts I've spoken to will guess the outcome.
I'm guessing they'll determine the bird is "Threatened" and favor the current core habitat strategy with more stringent regulations.
Greater sage grouse have been in decline since the 50's, and experienced very rapid decline in the last decade. Once numbering 16 million birds, the current population is around 200,000, and more than half the birds are in Wyoming. Other sage obligate species like Brewer's sparrow, sage sparrow and sage thrasher have also declined correspondingly. Much of the core sage grouse habitat overlaps with gas drilling and wind projects. The short explanation for the rapid decline is fragmentation in all of its forms.
I will be interested in the outcome.
Story of my life...