Sage grouse numbers stumble in Montana, across US West

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana's greater sage grouse population has fallen more than 40% over the past three years, mirroring recent declines across the U.S. West for the bird species that federal officials rejected for protections in 2015.

State wildlife officials estimate there were about 44,000 ground-dwelling sage grouse in Montana this spring. The figure is included in a report to be delivered to state lawmakers later this month.

Sage grouse once numbered in the millions but have seen their range that stretches across portions of 11 states diminished by oil and gas drilling, wildfires, grazing and other pressures.

Grouse numbers also continued to drop in 2019 in Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming. Weather can affect populations from year to year, and wildlife officials say those short-term cycles are most directly responsible for the recent declines.

Montana's drop from almost 78,000 grouse in 2016 was traced to an extreme drought in eastern parts of the state in 2017, said Catherine Wightman with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The decline coincides with increased efforts to conserve grouse habitat, including by working with private landowners to adopt grazing and other practices that are more beneficial to the bird.

"That doesn't mean those plans are not working and doing the right thing," said Wightman. "We're seeing this overall decline. The analysis shows overall the (population) peaks are getting a little lower and the valleys are getting a little lower. What we'd like to do is stabilize our numbers."

Wyoming's population drop was measured by counting the number of male birds strutting on grouse breeding grounds known as leks, said Sara DiRienzo with Wyoming Game and Fish. The number of birds per lek has dropped about 20 percent since 2018 and more than 40...