Seasonal movements of greater sage-grouse populations in Utah: Implications for species conservation

Abstract

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) is considered an umbrella species for sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) landscapes in western North America. In 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined sage-grouse unwarranted for protection under the Endangered Species Act (1973) because of conservation actions in priority areas. Understanding seasonal movements is key to delineation and assessment of priority conservationareas.Wemonitored radiomarked sage-grouse from1998 to2013 throughoutUtah,USA,to determine seasonal movements. Maximum distances from nearest lek to nesting, summer, and winter locations across all radiomarkedgrouse averaged2.20 km(90thpercentile1⁄4 5.06 km), 3.93 km(90thpercentile1⁄4 8.45 km), and3.76 km(90thpercentile1⁄4 7.15 km), respectively.Maximummovements fromnest to summer,nest towinter, and between summer and winter locations across all radiomarked grouse averaged 5.77 km (90th percentile1⁄4 13.60 km), 11.77 km (90th percentile1⁄4 26.36 km), and 14.75 km (90th percentile1⁄4 30.77 km), respectively. Maximum distance from lek of capture to summer locations was greater for males than females, whereas femalesmoved farther thanmales fromlek towinter andsummer towinter locations.Adult femalesmoved farther than yearlings from lek to nest and summer towinter areas. The state ofUtah’s Sage-GrouseManagement Areas included approximately 85% of the radiotelemetry seasonal locations and >95% when weighted by lek counts.Our results suggest that seasonalmovements could be facilitatedby increasingusable habitat space through management actions, as emphasized in Utah’s sage-grouse plan. 2016 The Wildlife Society.