Public Land Partnership
More than half of all remaining habitat for the greater sage-grouse is on public lands, most of it managed by the Bureau of Land Management
Male sage grouse displaying. Photo by Bob Wick, BLM
Sage grouse are a landscape species that don’t stop at fences. These iconic birds need large expanses of intact habitat to survive, and require conservation strategies that work across property boundaries. That’s why SGI partners with private landowners as well as agencies that manage public lands to ensure conservation efforts span both sides of the fence in 11 western states.
The BLM recently signed a 5-year agreement to promote win-win solutions for people and wildlife on public lands across the sagebrush sea. Their targeted conservation projects will build off the successful model pioneered by the NRCS-led Sage Grouse Initiative on private ranchlands.
Collaboration between diverse partners is what’s working to save sage grouse as well as the vast sagebrush sea that sustains communities and 350+ species. The new agreement between BLM and the Intermountain West Joint Venture shows impressive commitment to working cooperatively across boundaries to benefit both working lands and wildlife.
BLM is prioritizing these on-the-ground conservation practices:
(1) Remove encroaching conifers to prevent the loss of native shrubs, grasses and forbs that sage grouse and other wildlife depend upon to thrive. Watch this video about conifer encroachment into sagebrush communities and the collaborative strategies to restore these habitats.
(2) Reduce the threats of invasive annual grasses and catastrophic wildfire by increasing support for actions that protect and restore prime sage grouse habitat before, during, and after wildfires. Watch this video about the collaborative Burley Landscape habitat restoration project in Idaho.
(3) Restore wet meadows (mesic areas) to protect and enhance sage grouse brooding and chick rearing habitats. Read this Science to Solutions research about the importance of mesic areas for sage grouse and the fact that we need an ‘all-lands’ approach to conserve them.
LEARN MORE >> Download this fact sheet
Stories From The Sagebrush Sea On Public Land Partnerships:
