Great Basin National Park has been participating on the White Pine and Lincoln Counties Sage Grouse Conservation Planning teams. These teams are made up of personnel from the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Nevada Division of Wildlife, USDA Wildlife Services, Natural Resource Conservation Service, local ranchers, sportsmen and concerned citizens. The team was sanctioned by Governor Guinn to provide local solutions and decision making that would protect, enhance and restore sage grouse populations and their habitats. The White Pine and Lincoln County teams meet approximately every three weeks in Ely and Caliente, respectively. In addition, approximately once a month, a joint meeting between the two counties is held alternating between Ely and Pioche. Everyone who is a citizen or has an interest in White Pine or Lincoln County is encouraged to attend.

Sage Grouse Conservation planning was initiated in response to potential petitions being submitted to list the sage grouse as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. In fact, there were several petitions submitted this past summer. By completing an acceptable conservation plan, listing the sage grouse could be avoided, maintaining more flexible management activities from state, federal agencies and private landowners.

The conservation plan will lay out the following objectives: 1) Delineate Population Management Units (PMUs) or areas containing interacting populations of birds, 2) Assess and evaluate habitat conditions within each PMU, 3) Assess and evaluate population risks within each PMU, 4) Prioritize and set population goals for each PMU, and 5) Develop and submit a Sage Grouse Conservation Plan. These objectives are to be completed by December 2002.

Currently, Great Basin National Park is located in the Spring/Snake Valley Population Management Unit. Historically, sage grouse were common around Lehman Caves and the Rowland Ranch area. Several leks, or strutting grounds, where the birds congregate in the spring to breed were located between Strawberry Creek and Big Springs. However, surveys in these areas by park staff the past two years failed to detect any sage grouse. A Forest Service Research Scientist observed one female sage grouse in May 2002 below Clay Springs, southwest of the Baker water tank. Sage grouse are still found throughout Spring Valley and some of these birds are known to use the Strawberry Creek headwaters during the summer.

Work done to date concerning the park is shown in the figure below. It depicts a draft habitat assessment and evaluation for Great Basin National Park. Due to the high elevation of the park the primary threat to sage grouse habitat in the park is pinyon, juniper and mahogany encroachment. In fact, nearly 9,000 acres of sage grouse habitat has been lost in the park. This is shown in the figure by crosshatches, which represent historic sagebrush and grass habitat that are now stands of pinyon, juniper and mahogany forest. Diagonal lines exhibit currently existing sagebrush or mountain shrub plant communities being threatened with pinyon, juniper and mahogany encroachment. Areas outside the park are still being mapped due to lack of more detailed information.

The team is currently developing population and habitat risks, which will then be used to set population goals and prioritize areas for enhancement or restoration work.

Involvement from local citizens has been minimal and we would like to encourage everyone to become involved and provide input. If you are interested and want to learn more about sage grouse conservation planning or would like to become involved please contact Neal Darby at the park (775) 234-7331 ext. 232.