A Steppe Up for the Greater Sage-Grouse
A new PBS documentary explores the habitat that is vital for the survival of an iconic western bird.
On the plains of the American West, the lives of two organisms are intricately intertwined. One of them is a spiky, speckled bird; the other is a resilient little shrub.
The bird is the Greater Sage-Grouse, and it takes center stage in a new documentary, , produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for PBS's Nature series. The documentarians explore the backdrop that dictates this birds life: the sagebrush that stretches across large parts of seven states, including Wyoming, Nevada, and Oregon. Colloquially, this region is known as The Big Empty, which hardly does it justice, says , a biologist and filmmaker from Cornell and producer of the documentary. The place needs a PR agent, he says. But it also has a star, which is [the Greater Sage-Grouse].
The filmmakers spent three years gathering footage in Wyoming to reveal how the grouse interacts with the steppe. Sagebrush is important at every stage of the birds life. Primarily, its a source of food and shelter. Females camouflage their eggs in sagebrush thickets. And when females gather to nest, groups of males congregate in places called leks for spectacular courtship displays of their ruffled plumagelike the birds-of-paradise of America, says Dantzker. Males only lek in big numbers where the sagebrush is strong.
Once this habitat spanned 62 million hectares. But now of it remains. Agriculture, invasive species, and development have edged out these native plants, and the sagebrush is increasingly fragmented by oil and gas development. Decades of change have caused as much as a 99 percent drop in the Greater Sage-Grouse population, from 16 million a century ago to today.
Even as conservationists await a decision, due in September, on whether the bird will be federally listed as an endangered species, theyve set to work protecting whats left of the population and the sagebrush. By focusing on the swiftly disappearing habitat, the documentary makes clear the enormous importance of these efforts.
Flora and fauna
The Greater Sage-Grouse needs a lot of real estate, which is why its so important that local ranchers are partnering with conservation groups and federal agencies to maintain open stretches of brush for the birds. One pioneering group is the , which has joined forces with 勛圖窪蹋s to protect more land. Special agreements called conservation easements, in which ranchers receive payments in return for keeping their property intact, are used as bargaining chips. In some instances, its a statewide effort; other times its the work of the federal government. In March ranchers in Oregon signed a deal with the Interior Department that would protect four million acres of sagebrush habitat in the central and southeastern parts of the state.
Fighting fire
Firesmainly caused by lightning strikespose one of the greatest threats to sagebrush habitat, especially in the region. In 2012 alone, of sagebrush went up in flames. This is a serious problem for sagebrush, which doesnt regenerate after it burns. In March the Interior Department announced the launch of a new strategy for in sagebrush habitat, which theyll test this summer. As part of that effort, the agency has to supressing wildfires in Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Idaho.
Some of that funding will be used to rid at-risk areas of , an invasive plant that dries out early on in the season, providing fuel for fires. In Nevada and Idaho, clearance projects will remove vegetation alongside roads to stop the spread of prairie fires. Replanting programs will also help to restore some of the damaged sagebrush.
Bringing back the brush
Greater Sage-Grouse rely on sagebrush for food, too. Grouse are one of the only animals that can eat sagebrush. They eat it all year round, Dantzker says. In the wintertime its all there is.
In parts of its range, sagebrush is being outcompeted by invading trees like junipers. In Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota, the sagebrush is being squeezed out by nonnative grasses and agriculture. But rehabilitators are helping sagebrush come back by removing invasives and doing proactive planting. With funding and support from groups like the and the U.S. , conservationists are , cultivating sagebrush plants in nurseries, and replanting key grouse habitat.
Still, sagebrush is essentially the interior Wests version of old-growth forest. We need to get better at [reseeding], but we also really need to protect the habitat, because were not going to regrow it on a large scale anytime soon, Dantzker says.
With the documentary, Dantzker wants to challenge the perception that the sagebrush represents a wasteland, devoid of life and undeserving of public attention. Our goal was to add value to a place thats very easy to overlook, he says. Our goal is to say there is something here, and its something that we should take great pride in protecting.
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The Sagebrush Sea premiered on PBS's Nature on May 20. Watch the full episode at