The Western Grouse Project

WildEarth Guardians’ Western Grouse Project seeks to protect grouse under the Endangered Species Act. We are also working to restore grouse populations and guard their  habitats from further degradation and loss.

Grouse are umbrella and indicator species for the Sagebrush Sea, the western grasslands and deserts. Most western grouse have been disappearing since European settlement. Grouse are threatened by livestock grazing, agriculture, oil and gas extraction, roads, fences, powerlines and pipelines, off-road vehicles, mining, urban sprawl, unnatural fire, and invasive species.

Greater Sage-Grouse

The Greater Sage-Grouse is emblematic of the vast Sagebrush Sea ecosystem. First described by Lewis and Clark in 1805, nineteenth century travelers and settlers reported huge flocks of sage grouse that darkened the sky as they lifted from valley floors. The historic range of greater sage-grouse closely conformed to the distribution of sagebrush-steppe in what became twelve western states and three Canadian provinces. However, since 1900 sage grouse populations have declined. Greater sage-grouse distribution has decreased by as much as 56 percent while overall abundance has been reduced by as much as 93 percent from historic levels.

Gunnison Sage-Grouse

The Gunnison Sage-Grouse is distinct from greater sage-grouse, identified by researchers as early as the 1970s and recognized as a new species by the American Ornithologists’ Union in 2000. While its historic range may have included parts of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona, the species now occurs only in eight small populations in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah. Gunnison sage-grouse have experienced significant declines from historic numbers and only about 4,000 breeding individuals remain.

Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse are the smallest and rarest of six subspecies of sharp-tailed grouse in North America. The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse was once considered the most abundant grouse in the West. The historic range of Columbian sharp-tailed grouse included parts of what became ten western states and one Canadian province. However, by 1900 Columbian sharp-tailed grouse distribution had declined. The subspecies now exists in less than 10 percent of its historic range.

Lesser Prairie Chicken

The Lesser Prairie Chicken once occurred throughout the southern Great Plains. The species' historic range included parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Lesser prairie chicken has declined by over 90 percent due to myriad land uses.

Mono Basin Sage Grouse

Mono Basin Sage Grouse are a subpopulation of greater sage-grouse that occur on the southern border of California and Nevada. Geneticists have discovered that Mono Basin sage grouse are genetically distinct from other sage grouse. Research indicates that Mono Basin sage grouse have "a unique history of isolation distinct from all other populations" and that they are "at least as divergent from other populations of the greater sage-grouse as Gunnison sage-grouse are from the greater sage-grouse." A species that was once described as abundant now only exists in small, isolated populations in the region.