Sage-grouse Nesting and Brood Habitat Use in Southern Canada

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations have declined from 66 to 92% during the last 30 years in Canada, where they are listed as endangered. We used radiotelemetry to examine greater sage-grouse nest and brood habitat use in Alberta and assess the relationship between habitat and the population decline. We also identified the patch size at which sage-grouse were selecting nest and brood-rearing sites. Nest areas were in silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana) stands that had greater amounts of tall cover (P ≤ 0.001) at a patch size of 7.5 to 15 m in radius. Within those sagebrush stands, nests were located beneath the densest sagebrush present. Areas used for brood rearing had greater amounts of taller sagebrush cover in an area ≥15 m in radius than at random locations. Brood locations were not selected based on forb content; mesic areas containing forbs (20–40% cover) as a food resource for chicks were limiting (only 12% cover available). Overall cover of sagebrush is considerably lower in Canada (5–11%) compared with sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) cover in other areas throughout the range of greater sage-grouse (15–25%). If management goals are to provide suitable nesting and brood-rearing habitat, efforts should be directed toward protecting and enhancing sagebrush stands ≥30 m2 and increasing overall sagebrush cover. Management strategies also should focus on increasing the availability of mesic sites and increasing the abundance of sites with >10% forb cover, to enhance brood rearing habitat. JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 66(2):433–444