Movement and Nesting of Sage Grouse Hens in Central Montana

Abstract

Movements and nesting cover of sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) hens were studied in central Montana during the springs of 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972. Thirty-one sage grouse hens were radio-equipped resulting in 22 nests being located. Nineteen additional nests were located during nest searches and work incidental to telemetry. Adults laid larger clutches than yearling hens and also were more successful in bringing off a brood. Sixty-eight percent of the 22 nests of radio-equipped hens occurred within 1.5 miles (2.5 km) of the strutting ground where the hens were captured. Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) formed the nesting cover over all of the nests located. Successful nests were located in sagebrush stands with a higher average canopy coverage than those of unsuccessful nests, and had significantly greater sagebrush cover within 24 inches (60 cm) of nest and within a 100-square foot (9-m2) plot around nest. Consideration of the ecological requirements of animals affected by publicly funded programs is important. This is especially true of sage grouse since extensive areas of sagebrush have already been eliminated or modified by such programs with little apparent regard for the welfare of this unique game bird. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 38(4):630-633 The sage grouse was once considered the leading upland game bird in nine western states (Rasmussen and Griner 1938). Today it is hunted in 11 states but is a major game bird in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. These three states accounted for 77 percent of the total harvest of 180,000 birds in 1968 (June 1969). This regional decline has largely been attributed to agricultural encroachment on sage grouse habitat including extensive publicly funded sagebrush eradication programs. In 1965 the Montana Fish and Game Department, in cooperation with the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, initiated a 10-year study to determine various ecological effects of sagebrush removal. In the springs of 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972 we studied nesting cover and movements of sage grouse hens with the aid of radiotelemetry. Numerous studies have shown the importance of sagebrush as sage grouse nesting cover (Rasmussen and Griner 1938, Patterson 1952, Klebenow 1969). None of these studies determined how far a hen would travel from a specific strutting ground to nest or quantitatively described nesting cover except for height. These data are essential to protect remaining sage grouse habitat from further deterioration. We extend sincere appreciation to R. L. Eng, Montana State University, and R. Greene, Montana Fish and Game Department, for assistance in trapping and radioequipping hens; G. Dusek and L. Reuter, Montana Fish and Game Department, for field assistance; and T. W. Mussehl, Montana Fish and Game Department, for advice and assistance in various phases of the