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 less than or equal to 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 greater than or equal to30 m(2) 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.