Bird Conservation on Private Lands CRP-SAFE, State Acres For Wildlife

Bird Conservation on

Private Lands

CRP-SAFE, State Acres For Wildlife

Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Historical Distribution in the Western United States

Gillette 2014

Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse

A Year in the Life of CSTGLeks—Least important habitat type.Nesting—Most important habitat type.Brood rearing—Defined by insect abundance.Fall—Less important habitat, cover from predators, switch to berries...Winter—Fruit bearing shrubs and aspens.

State Acres For Wildlife Enhancement(SAFE)

Different goals than general CRPColumbian Sharp-tailed Grouse(CSTG) primarilyLimited acresFocused eligibility

SAFE Nationwide1,250,000 total acres36 states plus Puerto RicoLeading states by allocation acres:

Idaho—131,100, 2 programsCSTG--106,100Upland Gamebird—25,000

Texas—125,200, 3 programsWashington—100,100, 5 programsSouth Dakota—97,800, 3 programsKansas—97,000, 2 programsIowa—93,350, 4 programsNebraska—81,900, 2 programsColorado—52,050, 4 programsMinnesota—48,700 1 programOhio—42,600, 7 programs

Douglass Co. WA—50,087Bailey Co. TX—44,492Power Co. ID—41,833

Active SAFE Contracts

Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Lek Searches

CSTG management planPrivate Land funds for officer timeLandowner search requestsShoshone-Bannock Tribes MOU

Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Occupied leks

2008, 1212012, 491

Wyo

min

g

Utah

“there are leks on my land, but you will never know where”

“When are you coming out to find the leks on my land.”

Future of CSTG SAFE~20,000 acres available for SE Idaho.General CRP reductions in current Farm Bill.

Fewer acres with diversity vs. more acres near monoculturesBrewer’s Sparrow vs. Savannah SparrowWintering raptors

MonitoringAcres

SAFE 68,279.9Active CRP 154,917.2Expiring CRP, 2014-2017 61,533.0Cropland 529,582.6Ineligible for SAFE 468,388.7Total 1,282,701.4

Land use within 1.2 mile buffers of CSTG leks.