Groups aim to boost sage grouse totals
By Brett Prettyman
The Salt Lake Tribune
At one time there were so many greater sage grouse in the Strawberry Valley that roadside signs warned motorists to watch out for the upland game birds.
A 1939 report estimated that 3,500 of the grouse lived in the valley around Strawberry Reservoir. By the time the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) contracted Brigham Young University in 1997 to conduct a study on why the population had tumbled, the total was around 300.
"That area has some of the best sage grouse habitat in the state," said DWR upland game coordinator Dean Mitchell. "It was a mystery why the population declined so much."
It was eventually discovered that high predation by red fox may be keeping the population from reaching its historic levels. Today the population is around 100 birds.
Last week, students from BYU released 13 female greater sage grouse from the Parker Mountain range in southern Utah. This is the second year the DWR has transplanted grouse in an effort to help the Strawberry Valley population regain its footing.
Mitchell said 38 hens were released last year. Rick Baxter, a BYU research associate working on the program, said the goal is to release around 50 this year. The plan is to release another 50 in the Strawberry Valley next year.
"Ideally, we want at least 300 birds, and 500 birds would give us a secure breeding population that should be able to avoid a catastrophic event," Mitchell said.
While the DWR and Forest Service have each provided money for the project, the bulk of the support has come from the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission. The Parker Mountain Adaptive Resource Management working group has also been vital in helping organize trapping of the birds.
The greater sage grouse is considered a sensitive species in Utah, but limited hunting for the game bird is allowed in portions of the state which have a minimum breeding population of 500. The sage grouse hunt in Utah is monitored so that no more than 10 percent of the fall population in each area is killed. %%Sagegrouseflying - A female sage grouse takes the air after being released into the Strawberry Valley last week in an effort re-establish the birds in the area. The birds came from Parker Mountain in southern Utah.
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