by Matt Volz, Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Canadian province of Alberta wants to bolster its struggling population of sage grouse by relocating dozens of the chicken-sized birds from Montana, which itself is taking steps to ensure its own fragile population doesn't become endangered.
The request from the Alberta government will be taken up by Montana wildlife officials on Thursday, less than two months after the Obama administration said the greater sage grouse does not require Endangered Species Act protections in 11 states in the West. At the same time, federal officials announced restrictions on 67 million acres of public lands to protect the bird's habitat, and states such as Montana and Wyoming announced their own conservation initiatives.
Just across the border, the situation is dire. Alberta sage grouse occupy just 10 percent of their historical range, cornered by encroaching land cultivation, energy development and grazing. Their numbers went from a high of 613 males in 1968 to just 13 in 2012, according to the province's sage grouse recovery plan.
The total population of males and females has ticked slightly up since then, and was estimated at about 100 this year.
A key strategy in the province's recovery plan is to ship 120 sage grouse across the border over the next five years from genetically similar populations Montana. The relocation would be supplemented by researching the Canadian and U.S. populations with the goal of increasing their connectivity.
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Source: Associated Press
