Sage Grouse Maps

• Regional Map of Lek Density (Audubon)

Federal Listing of Sage Grouse

Judge Winmill's ruling (December 2007)

News Articles about Federal Listing: 

Judge holds feds to grouse deal (3/1/08)
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service sought to back out of an agreement that set a May 2009 deadline to determine whether to list the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act. A federal judge rejected that attempt. The agency will have to consider a new and critical scientific report on the bird due out in November.

Grouse review begins anew (2/27/08)
A federal judge in Idaho ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider Endangered Species Act protection for the sage grouse. The agency announced a new review Tuesday (2/26/08). Federal researchers will spend the next 90 days gathering the latest data on the bird's numbers and habitat.

Feds want out of grouse agreement (2/14/08)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has asked a federal judge to allow it to withdraw from a recent agreement concerning a timeline for deciding whether sage grouse should be listed as an endangered species across much of the Rocky Mountain West.

Feds plan grouse study (2/8/07)                    
Federal officials say they plan to decide by December whether greater sage grouse should be listed as an endangered species across much of the Rocky Mountain West, including Wyoming. The process of listing the bird as endangered could take another year following December's decision on whether it is warranted.  Similar article in Billings Gazette.

Bird in the Brush (12/15/07)
In 2004, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service decided that it did not need to list the sage grouse - whose habitat and diet are defined by sagebrush - as threatened or endangered. Now, Federal District Judge B. Lynn Winmill has ordered the Fish and Wildlife Service to review its conclusions about the sage grouse. According to Judge Winmill, the agency ignored the conclusions of experts it consulted. He also accused a former deputy assistant secretary at the Interior Department, Julie MacDonald, of "editing scientific conclusions" and intimidating Fish and Wildlife Service staff members.

Industry organizes grouse team (12/13/07)
US District Judge Lynn Winmill in Idaho ordered the USFWS to start another 12-month review of whether the sage grouse deserves federal protection. The Petroleum Association of Wyoming has formed a sage grouse management team to help coordinate efforts to keep the bird from being listed. The team will coordinate efforts with state and federal regulators, as well as landowners and other groups working to conserve the sage grouse.

Threat of federal protection of grouse inspires cooperation (12/10/07)
A federal judge in Idaho revived the potential for federal protection of the sage grouse. Numerous working groups, initiatives and partnerships spanning all levels of industry and government are working to prevent the need for such protection. A new federal sage grouse review is expected to take a year.  

'Serious' on sage grouse (12/6/07)
A federal judge in Idaho ruled that the US Fish & Wildlife Service must reconsider protection for the sage grouse. Wyoming and industry officials expressed optimism the bird won’t be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Experts will meet in Cheyenne today to establish a set of standards for sage grouse mapping and habitat assessment in Wyoming.

Judge: Study grouse again (12/5/07)
In a decision highly critical of the agency and its decision-making process, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill said the service also failed to use the "best science" available when deciding not give the declining species protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. Such protection could have dramatic consequences in Wyoming, where state and industry officials fear it would shut off millions of acres to livestock grazing and energy development.

Popular poultry (10/22/07)
Listing the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act could mean severe restrictions on two mainstays of the West's economy -- ranching and the booming oil and gas industry. So if the bird's population has declined so significantly, some question why they are still being hunted. "There's no link that's ever been scientifically established to suggest that hunting has been a cause for declines," said Christiansen, of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. 

Sage grouse agreement would benefit Wyoming (9/4/07)
Gov. Dave Freudenthal should be commended for trying something new to protect an important Wyoming trio: sage grouse, agricultural activity, and oil and gas development. Freudenthal wants to establish a conservation agreement under the ESA with assurances for the entire state. 

State eyes new grouse tactic (8/27/07)
The focus is on voluntary conservation efforts that qualify under the "candidate conservation agreements with assurances" provision. Essentially, private landowners who take on practices that conserve and increase sage grouse and sage grouse habitat are allowed to continue their normal operations if the bird is listed, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Where sage grouse go gas flows (6/27/07)
Audubon map shows birds’ mating areas overlap mineral leases in the West.
A map compiled by Audubon Wyoming shows federal mineral leases, including oil and gas leases, often overlap with important sage grouse habitat. The map, released Friday, shows high-density sage grouse lek areas covered by leases in most of Wyoming and Montana as well as portions of Idaho, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado. A lek is an area where sage grouse display when attracting females during mating season.

Grouse and gas (6/25/07)
If the bird, the greater sage grouse, lands on the endangered species list as some propose, that could put the brakes on the oil and gas activity surging through Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and Montana. As another breeding season ends this month and rigs again roll through the sage, a chorus of federal and university biologists and state officials says the companies' grouse conservation efforts are failing. 

News Articles about Governor's Sage Grouse Summit

Governor says Wyoming must address residential sprawl (9/26/07)
Sage grouse group’s suggestions carry $27.3 M cost  
A state panel offered recommendations to help preserve the sage grouse and its habitat. Gov. Freudenthal said he hasn’t yet endorsed any of the team’s recommendations. Wyoming may try to convince the USFWS to enter an agreement [candidate conservation agreements] that could allow the state to continue agricultural activity and energy development even if the sage grouse gains federal protection nationwide.

Panel: Limit development (9/26/07)
Wyoming needs to impose restrictions on residential development and reduce the effects of energy production to help the state's sage grouse population, an advisory panel has concluded. The team also recommends that Wyoming "reduce the footprint of energy development."

Freudenthal urges sage grouse actions (8/23/07)
Current and past experiences with the Endangered Species Act seem to have convinced the oil and gas industry to adapt activities to conserve wildlife and wildlife habitat. A sage grouse task force formed by the governor's office is expected to present its recommendations in September. Industry officials received good news from a recent poll on public opinion in Wyoming. Maintaining oil and gas development ranked high on voters' priority, right along with maintaining Wyoming's open, wild spaces.

Grouse group starts work (8/1/07)
A panel formed to look into how to preserve and improve sage grouse numbers and habitat in Wyoming began fashioning a list of recommendations during its first meeting Tuesday. The Sage Grouse Implementation Team compiled more than 30 possible recommendations it will discuss and refine over the next eight weeks. They include improved grazing practices, mapping out sage grouse habitat, different drilling practices and improved reclamation.

Sage grouse summit seeks elusive nature, energy balance (6/25/07)
"We have a narrow window of opportunity to protect the grouse and prevent it from being listed as an endangered species,” Governor Freudenthal said. The conference will focus on laying the groundwork for action in Wyoming's Powder River Basin and elsewhere in the state.

 Freudenthal calls for summit on sage grouse (6/1/07)
Gov. Dave Freudenthal has announced plans for a meeting on how to protect sage grouse in Wyoming and prevent the bird from being listed as an endangered species. The Sage Grouse Summit will be June 27-28 at Casper College. C. Stephen Allred, assistant secretary of the interior, is scheduled to attend, along with Freudenthal. In a news release Wednesday, Freudenthal said that the consequences of ignoring sage grouse would be “dire for both the bird and all interested parties,” including the agriculture and oil and gas industries.

Grouse catch gov's attention (5/31/07)
Turning the spotlight on one of Wyoming's more fragile wildlife species, Gov. Dave Freudenthal Wednesday announced plans for a “Sage Grouse Summit” at the end of June.

Research

Researcher Dr. David Naugle: 
  University of Montana website (reports available)

Researcher Dr. Matt Holloran:
  Greater sage-grouse population response to natural gas field development in western Wyoming (Journal of Wildlife Management)
  Presentation to BLM

Researcher Dr. Kevin Doherty:
  Greater sage-grouse winter habitat selection and energy development (Journal of Wildlife Management)

Additional reports and studies
  Multi-state report on research - NEW!
  Wyoming Game & Fish Department's website

News Articles about Research:

Developer tries to coexist with wildlife (Casper Star Tribune; 9/25/2008)

Retired BLM biologist raises grouse concerns (Casper Star Tribune; 9/25/2008)

Grouse disappear from ranch as coal-bed methane trucks roll in (Casper Star Tribune; 9/25/2008)

Wyo should abandon sage grouse farm idea (Casper Star Tribune; 9/22/2008)

Report: Protect grouse more (2/1/08)
The best available science indicates that the current level of sage grouse protection implemented in oil and gas development is not enough to maintain the bird's population, according to wildlife biologists. The Casper Star-Tribune obtained a copy of a 10-page report detailing consensus reached by wildlife biologists from five Western states regarding the science on sage grouse and energy development.

• Read multi-state report that interprets latest research

Grouse need more help, biologists agree (2/1/08)
Wildlife biologists from five Western states have reached consensus on the latest science regarding sage grouse and energy development. Despite much bristling from those in the oil and gas industry in recent months, the science does indicate that the current level of federal restrictions on the industry is not enough to adequately protect the iconic bird.

BLM 'sets bar higher' for grouse (8/16/07)
The Bureau of Land Management is offering energy companies a trade-off in the Powder River Basin: Don’t drill in high-quality sage grouse habitat, and the land management agency will prioritize drilling permits elsewhere. BLM said decisions about new energy development in high-quality sage grouse habitat will consider recent peer-review findings on the impacts of energy development on sage grouse.  

Conflicting science? (7/16/07)
New research suggests coal-bed methane activity has dire consequences for sage grouse. Industry officials have not fully analyzed the research but dispute his findings. State and federal land managers are in agreement to coordinate sage grouse conservation efforts.

Methane development has big impact on grouse (7/5/07)
A peer-reviewed study by University of Montana professor Dr. David Naugle and other researchers says that only 38 percent of sage grouse leks, or breeding sites, remained active after coal-bed methane development moved into an area, compared to 84 percent in undeveloped areas.