The greater sage-grouse is a bird species in decline in Washington due primarily to conversion of its native sagebrush habitat to agricultural fields. The population has declined over 80% since 1960 and only occupies about 8% of its historical range in Washington. The fewer than 1000 birds that remain in the state are state-listed as threatened. Climate change is becoming a growing threat to the population as increasing frequency of wildfire in sagelands and altered precipitation regimes are degrading habitat quality. In 2020, for example, fires burned over 350,000 acres of sagebrush habitat in the heart of the state’s largest sage-grouse population.

An understanding of how climate impacts like wildfire and altered precipitation interact with vegetation, topography, and human impacts on the landscape (e.g. agriculture, transmission lines, cities, and highways) to determine where this species can live and move is critical to devising effective habitat management strategies that support a viable population of greater sage-grouse in the region.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has studied greater sage-grouse for decades and has amassed a large amount of population survey data and genetic data from populations throughout the region. We worked with WDFW biologists to identify and gather data related to climate, topography, vegetation, and human impacts that influence sage-grouse habitat and habitat connectivity. From these data, we trained models to predict suitable habitat and movement corridors across the region.

We also worked with WDFW partners to explore alternative management scenarios. For example, we explored the impact on habitat connectivity from a planned new transmission line in the region and identified alternative sites for the transmission line that would minimize habitat fragmentation of the population. In another scenario planning exercise, we explored the impact of alternative configurations of Conservation Reserve Program (an US Department of Agriculture program that pays farmers to plant perennial vegetation instead of annual crops, in part to support native species) lands in the region, including a clustered allocation adjacent to occupied sage-grouse habitat that could increase the area of available habitat by two thirds.

WSU CSANR Blog: A role for agricultural landscapes in conserving wildlife – Part 1
Healthy ecosystems provide us with clean water, clean air, and rich soils, resources that help meet our needs and fuel our economies. They also support many wildlife species.

WSU CSANR Blog: A role for agricultural landscapes in conserving wildlife – Part 2
Fields enrolled in the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) have augmented native habitat and helped Greater Sage-Grouse avoid extinction in the agricultural landscape of eastern Washington after decades of decline (see part 1 of this series for details). Even though the local sage-grouse population has stabilized in recent decades, it remains highly vulnerable because it is still small and isolated from other populations.

UW News: Shrubs, grasses planted through federal program crucial for sage grouse survival in Eastern Washington
The sage grouse is an exceptionally showy bird and an icon of the American West. But its sagebrush habitat is disappearing, and there is debate over how best to protect the populations in an increasingly developed landscape.