About This Topic

Wrapped up in the name "Sage-Grouse" are a host of big issues related to public lands, the settement of the American West, roles and layers of government, rural communities, energy and economic development, wildfire, outdoor recreation and vast ecosystems supporting unique and important wildlife. The sagebrush steppe ecosystem provides habitat for the Sage-Grouse and hundreds of other animal and plant species from the declining pygmy rabbit to flowering plants, shrubs and grasses. The Sage-Grouse represents an umbrella species in the sagebrush sea as it has disappeared from most of its historic range and faces threats from fire, invasive species and habitat fragmentation. While often expressed shorthand in the name of this particular bird species, these deeper ongoing threads and conversations continue to shape the Oregon and the West as a whole.      

The Sage Grouse Conservation Partnership formed out of discussions beginning in Oregon in 2010 and represents a broad base of stakeholders in order to:

• Provide a forum for coordination of federal, state, local, NGO, and private efforts to conserve sage grouse and advance sage-steppe habitat and rural community health in Oregon, including matters related to funding, policy, and implementation;
• Implement, coordinate and monitor conservation, regulatory, and voluntary strategies across public and private lands where relevant to habitat, species, economic and community health; and
• Coordinate with USFWS requirements and schedule for the sage grouse ESA listing decision in 2015 and subsequent 5 year reviews in order to provide timely and relevant input on Oregon’s sage-grouse and sagebrush habitat conservation strategies/approaches.