Species & Ecosystem Science

	Lead Scientist: Michael A. Schroeder Ecoregions: Columbia Plateau Ecological Systems: Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Steppe, Inter-Mountains Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland, Columbia Plateau Steppe and Grassland
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	Greater sage-grouse males congregate on traditional display sites, leks, to display to and breed with females. Photo by Robert E. Bennetts
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	Greater sage-grouse nest in dense vegetation on the ground, usually under sagebrush.
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	Distribution of greater sage-grouse populations in central Washington prior to translocation efforts in Lincoln County (Schroeder et al. 2010).
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	Graduate student, Kourtney Stonehouse is conducting research on the translocation of greater sage-grouse and sharp-tailed grouse to the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area for her Master of Science degree from Washington State University in Pullman. She has just finished fitting a transmitter on a female.
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	Population estimates for greater sage-grouse on the Yakima Training Center, Moses Coulee (primarily Douglas County), and Crab Creek (primarily Lincoln County), Washington. Greater sage-grouse are being translocated to the Crab Creek area (Schroeder et al. 2010).

Grouse Ecology

Re-introduction of Greater Sage-Grouse to Lincoln County, Washington

Project Description

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) were historically found in many of the shrub-grass habitats of central and southeastern Washington. Surveys indicate that greater sage-grouse are virtually extinct everywhere except Yakima, Kittitas, Douglas, Grant, and Lincoln counties. Remaining populations are small and localized within isolated areas of relatively intact habitat including shrubsteppe, meadow steppe, and steppe, as well as Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands. The remaining populations also lack genetic heterogeneity. The total population in Washington was estimated to be about 1200 birds in 2011.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) initiated a project in 2008 to reintroduce greater sage-grouse to the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area in Lincoln County, Washington. The goal of the project was to establish a third population in the state in an area with more than 200 km² of shrubsteppe habitat on public lands. Prior to the first translocation in 2008 there were rare observations of sage-grouse in the release area. It was not clear whether these observations were birds dispersing from the closest population in Douglas County or whether these birds were ‘remnants’ from an endemic population known to occupy the area through the mid-1980s.

Key Findings

• Translocations in 2008-2011 relocated 144 greater sage-grouse to the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area from ‘healthy’ source populations in Oregon and Nevada.
• In general, birds released in the autumn fared poorly when compared with birds released in the spring.
• Most translocated females were observed nesting within Washington, some successfully. Broods were also successfully raised.

What’s New

• We are currently monitoring radio-marked birds for information on productivity, habitat use, movement, and survival.
• Additional translocations are planned.

Partners

• Dr. Lisa A. Shipley, Washington State University
• Jason Lowe, Bureau of Land Management
• Jessica Gonzales and Mike Gregg, United States Fish and Wildlife Service
• Kim Thorburn, Spokane Audubon Society
• Dave Budeau, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Shawn Espinosa, Nevada Department of Wildlife

Publications

• Re-introduction of Sage-grouse to Lincoln County, Washington
  • 2011 Progress Report
  • 2010 Progress Report
  • 2009 Progress Report
  • 2008 Progress Report

All photos unless otherwise indicated are courtesy of Michael A. Schroeder