Once numbering millions of birds across eleven western states, today only140,000 greater sage grouse remain.

The historic range of sage grouse included parts of sixteen Western states and three Canadian provinces. Since 1900 sage grouse populations have been reduced as their sagebrush habitat has been destroyed, degraded, and fragmented by human activities.

Federal listing for the sage grouse is vital because state and local agencies have failed to protect sage grouse and their sagebrush habitat. While sage grouse numbers have continued to decline, meaningful regulatory mechanisms are virtually non-existent and existing management is inadequate to conserve the bird. Federal land managers, most notably the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), have failed to manage their lands effectively for sage grouse.

Read the Fact Sheet 1/1/05 (PDF)


 

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