Sage-grouse in Alberta – are they turning the corner on extirpation?
August 1, 2016
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August 2016 Wildlands Advocate article, by Christyann Olson.
We hope so! As our readers know greater sage-grouse are in desperate trouble in Alberta. With just 14 males recorded on leks in 2012, they continued what seemed like an inevitable slide towards extirpation in Alberta. Though the cause was clear – industrialization of their habitat – provincial and federal governments refused to take action to protect habitat. That only changed after several years of legal challenges by AWA and our environmental colleagues. Then, in December 2013, the federal government issued an Emergency Protection Order. There’s hope the population has turned the corner towards stabilization; the total Canadian population of sagegrouse has increased and is estimated to be 340 birds this year.
