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Audubon Wyoming is creating a Species Survival Plan (SSP) for the Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) due to our overwhelming concern for the future of the sagebrush steppe ecosystem. The Greater Sage-grouse, an icon of the Great American Desert stands at the brink of oblivion. Near the turn of the century, (late 1800s to early 1900s), George Bird Grinnell reports having seen “the sky blacked out” as Greater sage-grouse lined up at the edge of a mesa and flew out across the meadow in which he camped. As the range was “improved” competition for land use (habitat) and over harvest dramatically decreased Greater sage-grouse populations. The population estimate during the early 1900’s was estimated at approximately sixteen million; today best estimates put the birds at one hundred thousand across their entire range.

Today, a huge drive is under way to discover and extract oil and gas from the fossil beds beneath much of our remaining sagebrush country. With the rising demands of energy consumption, the pressure to explore and exploit sagebrush landscapes is also amplified. As a consequence, research has shown that species like the Greater Sage-grouse are being negatively impacted and the existing regulations and stipulations meant to protect and conserve the grouse on the landscape are not nearly enough. Our understanding of this complex environment and how the Greater Sage-grouse depends on its intricate habitats is just beginning to be realized.

In the pursuit of mineral resources, infrastructure elements fragment and/or eliminate sagebrush steppe habitats, reducing habitat for not only the Greater Sage-grouse but also big game species and other wildlife dependant on the sagebrush steppe ecosystem during some part of the year. Roads create dust that lays down over hundreds of yards of vegetation on each side of the road, limiting its viability as feed. The trucks traveling the road on mineral business become a hazard for the wildlife and unrestricted access to these human corridors draw unlimited multiple-use traffic. Noise pollution created by pumps or truck traffic, if upwind from leks, can potentially cause lek abandonment.

Garbage is strewn or unattended, drawing species uncommon on the sagebrush steppe. The changes brought about by industry development also increase reproductive success for indigenous species, usually limited by food supply, thus ravens are more likely to become predators on grouse nests and young (and consequently are becoming targets for predator control).

Power lines, necessary for the operation of the wells and their support structure, become perch and nesting sites for birds of prey. With newly available perches, these predators become much more effective in pursuing grouse and other food items and are no longer limited by how long they can soar or distance to nests.

Coal Bed Methane draws waters from deep in the coal beds out onto the surface, which frequently are salted with pollutants. The water disposed of in surface ponds becomes prime breeding ground for Culex tarsalis, the mosquito most effective in transmitting West Nile virus. In Northeast Wyoming, where CBM is in advanced stages of development, WNv outbreaks have eliminated lek activity within a population.

Through the years, researchers have been documenting the effects the mineral industry has on the landscape and to the grouse. Recent research establishes that mineral development, within the sagebrush steppe, results in rapid decline in Greater sage-grouse numbers (declines can exceed 21% per year). It has become imminently clear, through scientific investigation, that the present stipulations, vaguely enforced by the BLM, are woefully inadequate.

Therefore, Audubon Wyoming felt compelled to develop and set forth a plan of action that addresses habitat degradation, fragmentation and loss due to the mineral industry. Our plan is titled the Greater Sage-grouse Species Survival Plan (SSP). The goal of the SSP is to establish parameters which allow Greater Sage-grouse to persist into the future, while multiple uses, specifically mineral extraction, occur across the sagebrush steppe ecosystem. The SSP outlines the means by which mineral may fulfill their promise of keeping landscapes and wildlife intact while developing for minerals.

Audubon Wyoming will fulfill the SSP mission by approaching the “Captains of Industry” rather then trying to change internal policy of the BLM or getting lost in politics (which has been proven most ineffective by other groups across the state). The SSP will enable industry to fulfill the promises they are making to the American public, through expensive add campaigns, that mineral extraction can be accomplished without damage to the land and its resources.

Our effort will establish voluntary stipulations based on the most recent and dependable research and the input of a committee of recognized experts on grouse management. We feel that this should not be looked upon as a challenge for the mineral industry, just a reasonable task, necessary, in order to utilize such rich resources.

The sagebrush steppe ecosystem has great economic promise and the mineral industry has a responsibility to the citizens of Wyoming to conserve the area’s natural wonders. Audubon Wyoming strongly believes that extraction of the resources can and should be accomplished concurrent with preserving habitat integrity. With the help of our friends and colleagues we will present this plan to the industry that will determine the future of this rolling land.