Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking comment on a proposed sage grouse conservation and management plan and on an environmental assessment that examines three sage grouse management alternatives.
A plan to conserve and manage Montana sage grouse, a native upland game bird that a number of groups have petitioned for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act, has been in development for nearly three years.
FWP and the Montana Sage Grouse Working Group released a draft conservation and management plan late last year. Public comment that focused the commitment to maintain Montana’s current distribution of sage grouse and sagebrush over the next 50 years prompted the changes contained in the proposed plan and the alternatives examined in the EA.
The proposed plan describes a comprehensive approach to conserve the state’s sage grouse and seeks to maintain state authority to manage sage grouse and to help conserve important sagebrush-grassland habitats. Under the proposed plan, state wildlife managers, public-land managers, and private landowners each have flexible guidelines for local conservation options.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently determined that enough biological information exists to warrant a more in-depth examination of the status of sage grouse. This finding comes in response to three different petitions seeking federal protection for the sage grouse, North America’s largest grouse best known for its distinctive spring mating rituals on breeding grounds called "leks."
Once found in 16 western states and three Canadian provinces, today sage grouse are found in 11 states and in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. The bird’s remaining strongholds are in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon.
The Montana Sage Grouse Work Group, a mix of state and federal agencies, hunting groups, Montana Indian tribes, conservation groups, stockgrowers, and individuals, was formed in 2001 and met monthly in different communities to examine the sage grouse’s status in Montana. The group sought to develop a science-based conservation plan to address factors that may impact sage grouse populations.
Montana’s proposed plan, identifies 12 major sage grouse conservation issues, the social and economic implications posed by those issues, and suggests guidelines and actions to conserve Montana’s sage grouse and their habitats. The 12 major issues identified in the proposed plan include: fire, grazing, hunting, vegetation, and noxious-weed management; mining and energy development; outreach and education; power lines and generation facilities; predation; recreational disturbance; roads and motorized vehicles; and managing other wildlife in sage grouse habitat.
To comment on the plan, write to: Sage Grouse Comments; Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks; P.O. Box 200701; Helena, MT 59620-0701. Send email comments to: fwpwld@state.mt.us. Comments are due May 14.
Copies of the EA and proposed plan are online at www.fwp.state.mt.us--look for the sage grouse management plan link in the Hot Topics box; and by mail at Sage Grouse Plan, Montana FWP, P.O. Box 200701; Helena, MT 59620-0701.
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