Feature: Arid Lands Initiative
The sage grouse pokes her head out to greet the
early morning sun rising over Central Washington's Columbia
Basin. She has used the sagebrush as cover for the night, as she
does every night. Soon she may use the thick brush to hide
her nest when she lays eggs. But today winter is giving way to
spring, and it's mating season.
With an occasional "cluck," the grouse moves cautiously
toward the center of the sage flats that fill the floor of a wide
coulee bordered by steepening hillsides and brown basalt
rimrock. In a small opening, a veritable meadow among the
meter-high sage, male grouse are beginning to congregate.
ese mating grounds, where males gather to show off
elaborate displays during mating season, are called leks. Oen
prominent openings in the shrub-steppe, leks may be used an
-
nually for decades if not disturbed.
e males strut and fan their tail feathers, making popping
noises with their inflated chests. e females observe quietly
from the brushy shadows. Only a few males will succeed in
being chosen as a mating partner. e picky females watch and
judge, sometimes for several days, before deciding on a mate.
Aer mating, the female grouse will retreat to a remote thicket
of sage to rear her young, with the plant providing both shel
-
ter and food.
Historically, these large grouse were abundant throughout
Eastern Washington. Today, only about 1,000 birds remain in
two isolated breeding populations: one in Douglas and Grant
counties and another in Kittitas and Yakima counties. Spo
-
radic sightings also occur in Okanogan, Lincoln, and Benton
counties.
Scientists have long described America's Sagebrush Sea as
"old-growth forests in miniature." is is an ancient and com
-
plex shrub-steppe ecosystem that once stretched from the
eastern foothills of the Cascades through the Columbia and
Great Basins, around the Rocky Mountains and into the west-
ern front of the Great Plains. Today, this expansive landscape
is fragmented and threatened by development, agriculture,
roadways, increasing wildfires and other challenges.
e sage grouse is an "obligate," reliant on a healthy, con
-
nected sagebrush environment to survive. It moves extensively
throughout its range searching for mates, food, and cover.
Many die on fence lines as they attempt to cross, or become
food for raptors, ravens or coyotes. Habitat loss and fragmen
-
tation threaten this fascinating but threatened bird, as well
as other wildlife like mule deer and pronghorn antelope that
thrive in this arid landscape.
Despite historically covering more than a third of Washing
-
ton, the arid shrub-steppe lands of the Columbia Basin (also
known as the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion) are sometimes
overlooked among the Evergreen State's natural treasures. True,
rolling deserts of sage and rocky coulees may not inspire with
the same grandeur as towering old-growth evergreens or massive
icy-blue glaciers. But observe the frenzied dances on a grouse
lek, or watch a majestic mule deer buck carefully escort does up
a well-worn trail, and it's unfathomable not to want to protect
these creatures and the unique landscapes they call home.
SAGELANDS HERITAGE PROGRAM
Introducing the Arid Lands Initiative
Alaina Kowitz Communications and Outreach Associate,
akowitz@conservationnw.org
8 Fall 2017 conservationnw.org
Wildlife are not the only ones who thrive in
the nuanced beauty of the Columbia Basin.
Locals and visitors alike find deep value in
connecting with the land and the creatures
that live here.
