Introduction

The sage-grouse is a shy, ground-dwelling bird that can fly fast but not far. They are known for their elaborate mating rituals in which the males puff up their bright yellow throat sacks and engage in a strutting “dance” to attract the females. The decision whether or not to list the sage-grouse was a significant one. There are more than forty-three million acres of sagebrush habitat in the western United States, with eighteen millions of those acres in Oregon alone. The collaborative governance group met for over three years, simultaneously coordinating their work with eleven other Western states to develop the Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Strategy, which resulted in a detailed plan and, significantly, in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) declining to list the sage-grouse as an endangered species. The entire world has suffered tremendous loss of life and a downward economic spiral in a compound crisis unlike anything experienced in several generations.