Photo: Aaron DeNu/Flickr

Video: Watch the Sage Grouse Strut!

Found across the western United States, the sage grouse population has declined by 90 percent over the past century. In Wyoming, the population has decreased an estimated 70 percent in just the last 50 years.

With the population falling this dramatically, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has acknowledged it needs protection. But this bird is no small matter. Listing the sage grouse as a threatened or endangered species has big implications, especially in Wyoming where energy development—from gas to wind—is big business.

So what can be done?  The Fund has worked on several projects that ensure the protection of sage grouse habitat in the Green River Valley of Wyoming. With our partners, we completed the largest conservation easement in the region on more than 2,000 acres of a family-owned working ranch—known as the MJ Ranch—southeast of Boulder. We also led a group of partners in the protection of  more than 1,000 acres of critical sage grouse habitat on Cottonwood Ranches, a working cattle ranch southwest of Daniel, Wyoming. The ranch land contains some of the highest quality sage grouse habitat in the Green River Valley—in a single visit more than 250 sage grouse were observed on the property.

The sage grouse is definitely an interesting looking bird and, like the prairie chicken, has an interesting way of attracting mates.

Watch the sage grouse strut!

 

 

Video and text (bottom) courtesy of Gail Patricelli, UC Davis

 

 

Would you like to help us protect land for wildlife like the sage grouse? Make a donation today.

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Behold! The Prairie Chicken

Prairie chicken

Photo: Doug Dance
www.ddancenaturephotography.com

 

Want to know more about this quirky bird? Click here to see its famous mating dance and learn more about the prairie chicken's place in American culture.

Photo Gallery: Wyoming

Photo Gallery: Wyoming

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What is Mitigation?

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With the growing demand for energy, water and transportation, there is a push to rebuild America's infrastructure. We're working to mitigate, or compensate, for the environmental impacts that progress can bring.
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