Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced USDA’s landmark agreement to accelerate and focus conservation efforts benefitting ranchers and the Bi-State population of sage grouse straddling the Nevada/California border. USDA will provide up to $25.5 million of conservation investments as part of its contribution to delivering the federal, state and local 2012 Bi-State Action Plan. USDA’s […]

Read the Press Release here. Download the PDF of the Science to Solutions report “Predicting the Outcome of Wyoming’s Sage Grouse Conservation Strategy“ The Sage Grouse Initiative today released the third in its Science to Solutions series, this one a partnership project with The Nature Conservancy. The first two focused on fence-marking and conifer removal, based […]

Rancher Gary Bedortha shares his story of juniper removal on 12,000 acres of his private ranchland near Paulina to benefit sage grouse and the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem.

This article appears in the June/July 2014 issue of Working Ranch Magazine.

Hayes Goosey is leading a unique four-year study near Roundup, Montana, to investigate a key part of sage grouse diet in spring and summer, particularly for the growing chicks. Preliminary findings of the study after two field seasons reveal that the Sage Grouse Initiative rest-rotation grazing program is working when it comes to boosting the abundance of arthropods. The results show that the rested or deferred pastures from grazing host the most arthropods across all taxa.

Story and photos about the Harney County CCAA on USFWS Pacific Region’s Tumblr Page: by Paul Henson, Oregon’s state supervisor for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The NRCS-led Sage Grouse Initiative joins the celebration today in the signing of a major conservation agreement with landowners in Harney County, called a Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances. Ranchers in a CCAA agree to voluntarily manage their lands to remove or reduce threats to sage grouse, and in return receive assurances that should the species be listed under the Endangered Species Act, the landowners will not face more regulatory requirements.

Dave Bequette couldn’t be happier with the conservation results on his family ranch south of Laurel, after the May 11th “Hero for a Day” volunteer project that will become an online film for Field & Stream Magazine. The release date is tentatively set for late July and will highlight the Sage Grouse Initiative as a win-win solution for ranchers and wildlife.