Reinforcements of a Greater Sage-Grouse Population in Utah: Applications for Range-Wide and Local Conservation Translocation Efforts

In a small, isolated greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) population in the Sheeprock Mountain Sage-Grouse Management Area (SGMA) located in Utah\u27s West Desert, peak male lek counts declined from 190 males in 2006 to 23 males in 2015. A collaborative effort across all federal, state, and local partners yielded 146 (40 male, 106 female) sage-grouse captured, marked with either a very-high frequency or global positioning systems (GPS) transmitter, and translocated into the Sheeprock sage-grouse management area between 2016 and 2019, complete with radiotelemetry monitoring during the spring and summers of 2016-2020 translocated individuals in addition to radiotelemetry monitoring of 39 (12 male, 27 female) resident Sheeprock sage-grouse. Coincident management efforts included extensive habitat restoration, predator control, and monitoring off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation. To evaluate the movements, habitat selection, demographics, and genetics of this population, I performed a behaviorally segmented, movement-based habitat selection analysis, an integrated population model (IPM) of the Sheeprock SGMA and the translocation source populations, and analyses quantifying allelic richness, allelic frequency, and genetic heterogeneity. Additionally, I evaluated the GPS transmitters\u27 performance to monitor the grouse, which is essential for quantifying and accounting for fix error for GPS-based spatial models. The probability of sage-grouse beginning in the exploratory phase at the time of release was marginally lower for adult males and females than yearlings. The analysis also suggested that to reduce post-release dispersal, practitioners should prioritize release sites to maximize the restricted state selection in areas closer to mesic habitat, higher elevation, and lower tree cover. The IPM predicted declining populations following translocations due to low recruitment, dictated by low chick survival, and estimated population abundance of 22 individuals (95% CI: 2 – 63) by 2027 by 2027. However, we also detected an increase in allelic richness and the potential for the increased admixture of the source population genetics in the reinforced population

Greater Sage-grouse Translocations: The Science Behind Utah\u27s Conservation Policy

This fact sheet discusses the history of translocating greater sage-grouse in Utah. This includes information on protocols, success rates, and genetic implications

North American Forest Grouse Harvest Regulations

This bulletin reviews North American forest grouse harvest regulations. Forest grouse are a highly sought-after wildlife resource across North America, both for their intrinsic value and as game species. Their unique breeding displays and the habitat they rely on are part of North America’s incredible natural heritage. Most forested landscapes in the upper latitudes of North America have the potential to provide habitat for one or more forest grouse species. This includes a large variety of vegetation types including the aspen forests of the upper Midwest, the coniferous boreal forest of Canada, the Pacific coastal rain forests that extend from Alaska to California, the Intermountain Rockies as far north as the Yukon and as far south as New Mexico and Arizona, and the mixed forests of the southern Appalachians. Across nearly the entire distribution of these forest grouse species, states and provinces have regulated harvest. Eastern states and provinces generally have shorter seasons and non-aggregated bag limits compared to western states and provinces, which tend to have more liberal season lengths, earlier start dates, and most often have aggregated bag limits for multiple forest grouse species. North American forest grouse species have different life-history strategies and yet, in many cases, harvest regulations are combined. Thus, harvest management strategies for forest grouse, especially for western states and provinces, may warrant increased evaluation to ensure appropriate harvest management and conservation of these species into the future

Sheeprock Mountains Visitor Use Report

The Sheeprock Mountains, located in southern Tooele and northern Juab counties, support a variety of uses. The mountains are a popular destination for camping, hunting, and off-highway vehicle use; they also support domestic livestock grazing operations through public land grazing allotments, and provide important habitat for numerous wildlife species. These uses have co-existed for many years, with many of them well documented through either public records (e.g., grazing leases) or scientific data collection efforts (e.g., vegetation mapping). However, there is very little empirical data detailing outdoor recreation use in the region. The only known data come from two-way traffic counters; data from these counters suggest an increase in vehicle traffic throughout the region over the past several years. Aside from this, very little is known about visitors to the region. This report details the first visitor use study to be conducted in the Sheeprock Mountains. We specifically set out to: 1) characterize the types and amount of outdoor recreation use occurring within the region; to 2) better understand recreationists’ motivations for visiting the area; and to 3) identify the spatial patterns of off-highway vehicle use in the area

Nonnative Ungulate Impacts on Greater Sage-grouse Late Brood-rearing Habitat in the Great Basin, USA

Domestic livestock grazing is the dominant land use on much of the current range inhabited by greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) in the western United States. Nonnative feral horses (Equus ferus caballus) also inhabit important sage-grouse seasonal habitats. Overabundant feral horse populations and improper grazing by domestic cattle (Bos taurus) can impact the health of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) and desert shrub rangeland communities and native wildlife. These impacts to sage-grouse can be exacerbated when they affect late brood-rearing habitat, which provide the forbs and arthropods required to fledge broods. Managers require better information regarding the extent of these impacts. In 2020, we assessed the potential impact of feral horses and domestic cattle on sage-grouse late brood-rearing habitats in western Utah and eastern Nevada, USA. We acquired late brood-rearing location data from sage-grouse marked with global positioning system and very-high frequency radio-transmitters from 2016 to 2020 for North Utah data, 2017 to 2018 for South Utah data, and 1961 to 2017 for both east and west Nevada data to delineate late brood-rearing habitats. Using these location data, we compared 8 sites (4 pairs) within horse and non-horse use areas to assess sage-grouse habitat quality characteristics between areas that have been predominantly horse and cattle grazed versus sites that have been predominantly cattle grazed. For each pairing, 1 site was located within and the other outside of a Bureau of Land Management herd management area boundary, and both sites shared similar habitat characteristics (i.e., topography, dominant vegetation, soils, and climate) and selection probability for broods. We collected vegetation and dung count data at each site to assess characteristics related to habitat quality for sage-grouse brood-rearing, based on ungulate presence. We used a mixed model analysis of variance to detect differences between each paired site comparison (α \u3c 0.01). Horses or evidence of horse presence (i.e., dung) were not detected at our non-horse sites allowing for an unbiased comparison between paired sites. Cattle presence was noted at all our paired sites. Average annual grass frequency was 0.74 in horse and 0.17 in non-horse use areas (P = 0.20), and average annual grass cover was 4.0% compared to 0.2% in horse use areas (P = 0.32). Average annual grass biomass was 0.45 kg/ha in horse and 0.04% in non-horse use areas (P = 0.34). Vegetation height was 44.2 cm in non-horse compared to 34.5 cm in horse use areas (P = 0.23). These results suggest that increased ungulate grazing and year-long use of late brood-rearing habitat by feral horses coupled with livestock grazing may impair habitat suitability, particularly considering ecological impacts from invasive plant species. Our results suggest that managing late brood-rearing habitats to reduce the frequency and intensity of year-long grazing by feral horses can be best accomplished by reducing horse numbers and the seasonal distribution of grazing by domestic livestock