Through a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies is partnering with private landowners in Morgan County, Colorado to eliminate cheatgrass—an extremely invasive weed that outcompetes native vegetation, reduces habitat quality and increases fire hazards.
Join us for a special presentation by award-winning photographer Noppadol Paothong as he presents the extraordinary story of life, natural history and the unique spring courtship behaviors of sage-grouse as captured in his latest book Sage Grouse, Icon of the West.
Award-winning photographer Noppadol Paothong is striving to rescue grassland grouse from the brink of extinction by showing the world what it stands to lose if these species are allowed to disappear forever. His book, Save the Last Dance: A Story of North American Grassland Grouse, captures the dazzling beauty of seven grouse species whose populations are diminishing across the prairies and plains of America— and one species that has already lost its battle for survival. The book also shares the conservation efforts underway to save these species.
Biologists, private landowners, land managers and conservation partners came together recently in Gunnison, CO to share emerging techniques for habitat improvement and restoration on sagebrush rangelands.
The Bird Conservancy (formerly Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory) collaborated with a graduate student at Oxford University to study the impacts of natural gas well pads and their associated roads on the distribution of sagebrush-obligate songbirds. The student, Max Mutter, writes about the experiences leading up to the study and shares a key result.
The Greater Sage-Grouse represents a special part of our country’s sagebrush steppe ecosystem. Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory is testing the effectiveness of different types of fence markers to help these grouse avoid collisions with fences. Field crew leader Taylor Gorman and biologist Nick Van Lanen offer insights from the first season of this study before heading back into the field.
Earlier this year, RMBO hosted forums to gauge feedback on a new Decision Support Tool. The tool helps compare management options that ensure the economic viability of grazing lands with the habitat needs of sagebrush-dependent songbirds and grouse.
Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory is testing the effectiveness of different types of fence markers to help Greater Sage-Grouse avoid collisions with fences. Field crew leader Taylor Gorman and biologist Nick Van Lanen write from frigid Sublette County, Wyoming, on the importance of markers for reducing grouse mortalities and report on progress of RMBO’s study thus far.
Encroachment of coniferous trees such as juniper can noticeably alter sagebrush ecosystems and, in turn, habitat quality for wildlife. Range Conservationist Brandon Elkins writes about a project to remove juniper trees in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming to benefit sage-grouse and other wildlife.
