Greater Sage Grouse in North Dakota
By
Dan Ackerman
Rough Creek Productions

                With the thought of a cool, crisp, autumn morning while out and about in the vast prairies of North Dakota, my insides are boiling with excitement.  This may not be the most enjoyable thought to have after the long winter we seemed to have just gotten over with, but it seems awfully nice when I look outside at the bank sign and the mercury reads 87 °F.  Not just because I am an avid hunter that I get excited about the autumn season, but because this is a time when I seem to get outdoors more often and feel comfortable without having to stop and cool down and wring the sweat out of my shirts. 
                While being an avid hunter, I also possess a degree in wildlife biology and I am extremely curious as to how our resident wildlife is faring.  With this curiosity, I heard through the grapevine that the greater sage grouse that inhabit the western reaches of the state are not doing so well, in fact the North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGF) has decided to cancel hunting seasons for them the past two years. 
Sage grouse are currently a species of concern throughout much of their range and is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act.  These birds rely on sagebrush to survive, much like ring-necked pheasants rely on the Conservation Reserve Program to maintain higher populations.  Sage grouse habitat has dropped nearly 50 % throughout its range, mainly in the western portion of the United States.  Our great state of North Dakota has a relatively small population in the southwestern reach of the state (distribution is restricted to approximately 800 square miles in western Bowman County, western Slope County, and southern Golden Valley County).
This spring, only 69 males were counted on 17 active strutting grounds, which is well below the NDGF management objective, so no hunting will be allowed this year. 
Sage-grouse are native to the sagebrush-steppe of western North America and their distribution closely follows that of sagebrush, primarily big sagebrush (A. tridentata).  Sage grouse in North Dakota are largely non-migratory, although there may be some short seasonal movements between summer and winter habitats.
Breeding habitat of the greater sage grouse consists of strutting grounds or “leks” where breeding actually occurs.  Research suggests that about two-thirds of nests occur within two miles of a lek.  Key areas most often consist of clearings surrounded by sagebrush cover.
Sage grouse prefer sagebrush for nesting cover, and the quality of nesting cover directly influences nest success.  Successful nesting requires concealment provided by a combination of shrub and lasting grass cover. 
The young of the year sage grouse inhabit areas with high abundance and variety of succulent forbs, which is an important food source for the young and growing grouse.  Young broods typically prefer open stands of sagebrush to live in.  As summer goes along, the sage grouse will move from areas where the succulent forbs are drying up and will search for areas that still possess succulent forbs, sometimes including such areas as road ditches and alfalfa fields, and other moist areas. 
Sage grouse generally select relatively tall and large expanses of dense sagebrush during the winter months.  Wintering areas include sagebrush stands on relatively flat sites with sagebrush having an average height of 10 inches.  The importance of shrub height increases with snow depth.  So, snow depth can limit the availability of wintering sites to the sage grouse.
Many issues are thought to bring on the low population of the greater sage grouse.  The sagebrush habitat is being lost, fragmented, or degraded in areas where most of the nation’s oil and natural gas reserves lie.  Transmission lines are thought to provide perches for raptors.  These transmission lines most likely impact grouse near leks, in brood-rearing habitat, and in wintering areas that also support large numbers of wintering raptors.  Construction of new transmission lines and oil and gas lines further contribute to habitat degradation when they are accompanied with new roads and other infrastructure, including fences.  Utility poles, which are made safe for raptors, are used as perches, which pose a threat to sage grouse in their habitats.  Roads and motorized vehicles also possess a threat to sage grouse where the roads will fragment habitat and impact habitat quality.
                While there are numerous activities that are currently on-going and seem to be ever-growing in the western portions of the country, the sage grouse is still here to stay and is a great sight to see in the beautiful Dakota landscapes.