North Dakota’s greater sage grouse population appears to have gone extinct, the latest setback in the ongoing battle to save the iconic Western bird and its dwindling sagebrush habitat.
State wildlife officials confirmed this week that they did not count a single male sage grouse during annual spring surveys at dozens of grouse breeding grounds, called leks. Male attendance at active leks is an accurate barometer of grouse populations because the males eschew taking cover from predators as they perform an elaborate mating dance, making them easier to count.
“This is the first time ever we were not able to find any male sage grouse at active leks in North Dakota,” said Jesse Kolar, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s upland game management supervisor.
Unless grouse migrate into North Dakota from neighboring states, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s home state will be the first one in decades to completely lose its sage grouse population.
