Water delivery is delayed by an average of nine days in sagebrush systems compared to juniper-dominated systems. Holding water later into the summer season helps the sagebrush system become more diverse, benefiting vegetation, wildlife, and ranchers. This is one of the greatest services that an ecosystem can provide in the West.

The newest Science to Solutions report is based on findings from a 25-year case study on a ranch in Utah. The study shows that sustainable grazing practices and sagebrush treatments enhanced herbaceous understory for sage grouse in years with average winters, but that bird populations declined following severe winters.

New research released as part of the Sage Grouse Initiative’s Science to Solutions series shows that restoring sagebrush ecosystems not only benefits ranching and sage grouse but other wildlife, too, including key songbirds.

In the northeast part of sage grouse range, 70% of the best habitat is privately owned-–and the single greatest threat in this region is cultivation of native sagebrush grazing lands. Read more in this new Science to Solutions report.

Science to Solutions: High-Res Maps Sharpen Focus On Sage Grouse Habitat A new technique called Earth Sense Technology (EST) is a more efficient and cost-effective way to assesses range conditions throughout the West.  This report explains how the technology allows managers to better see, quantify, and understand the big picture of how grouse choose seasonal habitats. Developed by Eric Sant and Gregg […]

This report shows how habitat conservation for sage grouse, considered an umbrella species, can also protect critical habitat for mule deer. Scientists found that sage grouse conservation efforts doubled the protection of deer migration habitat and winter range.

Marking fences for visibility can dramatically reduce sage grouse collisions. A new mapping tool can help managers and landowners target those fences that pose the highest risk for grouse strikes: fences close to leks, and in flat or rolling terrain.

Wildfires and the invasion of exotic annual grasses like cheatgrass can transform large expanses of sagebrush habitat, which is bad for sage grouse. This new strategy serves as a powerful decision tool to address wildfire and cheatgrass threats.

An impressive 85% of leks (sage grouse breeding areas) cluster within six miles of wet summer habitats. Successful sage grouse conservation will hinge on cooperative conservation with private landowners to sustain these lush and vital summer habitats.

This recent study by The Nature Conservancy, University of Wyoming and the Sage Grouse Initiative finds that Wyoming’s strategy, combined with targeted conservation easements on private lands, could cut anticipated sage grouse losses by half statewide, and by nearly two-thirds within core habitat areas.