After a plummet in sage grouse numbers two years ago, a new report shows signs that the bird is starting to rebound a bit. The Western Alliance of Fish and Wildlife Agencies conducted the study with the help of Cheyenne-based consultants WEST.
It shows that sage grouse have been declining in numbers by almost a full percentage point every year since the study began in 1965. But the group’s Sage Grouse coordinator, San Stiver says, in the last two years, that decline has slowed.
“We did have a recent trough in numbers in 2013, which caused a fair amount of alarm. Our numbers in ’14 and ’15 have rebounded over 60 percent.”
Stiver says, each year, the study counts the number of male sage grouse who participate in the spring’s mating displays at about 5,000 breeding areas, or leks, around the West. In 2013, only a little more than 43,000 males showed up. This year, more than 80,000 came.
Stiver says the study doesn’t show why the birds are doing better, but all the conservation efforts can’t have hurt.
“We’re spending a lot of money on sage grouse. We have been for the past 15 years. And if the birds can respond to it, we have plenty of birds to respond to it.”
Stiver says state and federal agencies have invested over $200-million in recovery efforts that could be paying off.
He says, the report was put together to give the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the most up-to-date population trends going into next month when a decision about whether to list the bird as an endangered species is due out.
