Conserving the Greater Sage-Grouse: Learning from our American Cousins?

Wild Lands Advocate article, October 2014, by Ian Urquhart. American producers worry that including the greater sage-grouse in the U.S. Endangered Species Act will have negative impacts on their activities. The Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI) was developed in 2010 as a conservation program in which landowners can voluntarily cooperate to help improve sagebrush habitats on private lands throughout the U.S. without sacrificing the needs of cattle. Approximately 1,000 ranchers have joined the program. Canadian sage-grouse finally have an Emergency Protection Order under the Species at Risk Act, which has been met with some resistance from producers. A voluntary stewardship program like the SGI, in conjunction with the protection order, would be a boon to the greater sage-grouse and their habitat.