Loss Of Sage In Great Basin Impacts Upland Bird Numbers

One of the greatest upland bird hunting areas in the West, the Great Basin of Nevada and surrounding states, is in jeopardy of losing most of its sagebrush habitat and the wildlife populations that depend on sage for food and cover.

- Jim Matthews

The loss of sage habitat has already cut the sage grouse population by around 15 percent, according to Shawn Espinoza, a wildlife biologist with the Nevada Division of Wildlife. While the big grouse depend on sage for food and cover, chukar, Hungarian partridge, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse and valley quail also rely on sage for protection from predators and as nesting cover. All upland bird species are negatively impacted by the loss of sage.

Wildfires and an invasive grass called cheat grass are the one-two punch driving the decline in sagebrush. The fires, which are increasing in size and intensity, now convert vast areas of sage and scrub into permanent grasslands, consisting of cheat grass and few other species. Cheat grass fuels those fires and has expanded its range and density with each burn, increasing the fire risk. It has become a vicious cycle.

A recent U.S. Geological paper examining the relationship between sage grouse and fires in sagebrush habitat projected that more than 50 percent of the sage grouse population is likely to disappear in the Great Basin over the next 25 years if the cycle isn’t broken or habitat restoration isn’t accelerated.

Jim Jeffress, a retired Nevada Division of Wildlife biologist who is now president of the Idaho Wild Sheep Foundation, said he “wouldn’t be a bit surprised if 60 to 70 percent of Wyoming (big) sage has been lost” already in the Great Basin.