Close up of greater sage grouse. Photo by Bob Wick, BLM.

Greater Sage-grouse

The BLM manages the largest single share of greater sage-grouse habitat in the United States nearly 67 million of 145 million acres total. These same lands sustain Western rural economies built on outdoor recreation, ranching, farming, energy development and small businesses, and are critical for more than 350 other wildlife species  including pronghorn, mule deer and the pygmy rabbit. They are also the headwaters for the West's major river systems. 

For decades, federal, state and private land managers have worked to conserve and restore the sagebrush ecosystem, with federal agencies managing habitat on the lands whose surface they administer and states managing and monitoring wildlife populations.
 

Moving forward to conserve habitat 


The greater sage-grouse is in sharp decline. Populations once in the millions now number fewer than 800,000, largely due to habitat loss exacerbated by climate change effects, such as drought, increasing wildfires and the spread of invasive species

We have announced a proposal to strengthen greater sage-grouse protections on public lands, informed by the best-available science and input from local, state and federal partners. Alternatives for updating our sage-grouse habitat management plans build on the most successful components if the plans that were adopted in 2015 and revised in 2019

The draft environmental impact statement which analyzes the potential effects of six proposed alternatives will be open for public comment on March 15, 2024. The comment period will end on June 13, 2024. There will be two virtual and 11 in-person public meetings during the comment period to answer questions and provide further information.
 

Read and comment on the Draft EIS  Public meeting schedule 



Even as we engage in planning, the BLM continues to invest in habitat treatments, to restore critical areas and make remaining habitat more resilient to various stressors and threats. 

In addition, we continue analyzing the environmental effects of withdrawing sagebrush focal areas (SFAs) from mineral location and entry using continued engagement with stakeholders and the best available science. 
 


 

A seed from ventenata grass attached to a shirt cuff
Invasive species are a leading risk to native wildlife everywhere, including the greater sage-grouse and hundreds of other species that depend on healthy sagebrush habitat...
A sagebrush seedling in dry cracked ground
Sagebrush grows year-round, even in the winter. Its branches hold blowing snow in the landscape to water spring and summer growth, even in periods of drought.
The winter sun shines over sagebrush and drifted snow
Photos courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Tom Koerner) In winter, the sage-steppe lands of the American West are awash in white drifts and...
a little brown myotis bat on rocky soil
Bats are vital to the health of economies and natural ecosystems -- even sagebrush-steppe! While sage is not these little mammals' primary habitat, many state...
Wildland fire burning in sage-steppe, Idaho 2007
Story by Heather Feeney, BLM Public Affairs Specialist Photos by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, BLM-Idaho Wildland fire is a major, ongoing threat to habitat...

Habitat in Season 

Greater sage-grouse gather at a lek.


Starting in early March, greater sage-grouse gather at open areas known as leks. Spring is the only time of year when the birds prefer the lower, less dense vegetation. Breeding requires being seen.