Saving the Sage Grouse

In May, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell stepped up to the podium at a press conference in Boise. The smell of damp sagebrush was in the air, and the foothills in the background were green – a rare sight in the high desert. Jewell then cut to the chase: “Fire is the number one threat to this ecosystem in the Great Basin states,” said the Obama administration cabinet member. The ecosystem Jewell is talking about is the sagebrush steppe , and the greater sage grouse is its most famous – and fragile – resident. In fire-prone states like Idaho, Oregon and Utah, rangeland wildfire is a fact of life. But the troubled species hasn't evolved with large-scale wildfire. Wildfires wreak havoc on greater sage grouse populations by destroying the areas where the birds mate and raise their chicks. As factors like climate change and invasive plants have increased the intensity of these fires, Jewell’s new strategy is designed to allocate more money, personnel and equipment to firefighters in sage