Columbian sharp‐tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus) have experienced range‐wide population declines, primarily as a result of habitat loss or degradation, and currently occupy <10% ...of their historical range. Expansion of wind‐energy development across the current, occupied Columbian sharp‐tailed grouse range is a potential threat to the subspecies. To assess the potential effects of wind‐energy development on vital rates of Columbian sharp‐tailed grouse offspring, we monitored 68 broods of radio‐marked females captured at 11 leks in restored grasslands within 14 km of a 215‐turbine wind‐energy development complex in eastern Idaho, USA from 2014–2015. We assessed the influence of wind turbine density, habitat characteristics, brood‐rearing female age, hatch date, and weather on brood success and chick survival using an information‐theoretic model selection approach. Wind turbine density did not influence early (14‐day) brood success, but there was weak evidence for a negative effect of wind turbine density on late (42‐day) brood success. There was strong evidence that increasing turbine density within the late brood‐rearing home range negatively affected chick survival to 42 days after hatch. The probability of an individual chick surviving to 42 days decreased by 50% when there were ≥10 wind turbines within 2,100 m of the nest. Late brood success and chick survival increased with earlier hatch dates. There was weak evidence for positive effects of post‐hatch precipitation on early brood success and chick survival and weak evidence that adult females had higher early brood success than yearlings. Habitat characteristics such as vegetation composition in restored grasslands were poor predictors of offspring survival. Multiple variables, including wind‐energy development, are important to Columbian sharp‐tailed grouse brood success and chick survival. Wildlife managers should consider the potential for negative impacts of wind‐energy development on Columbian sharp‐tailed grouse recruitment when addressing wind‐energy siting and mitigation.
To assess the potential effects of wind‐energy development on Columbian sharp‐tailed grouse offspring vital rates, we monitored 68 broods of radio‐marked females captured at 11 leks in restored grasslands within 14 km of a 215‐turbine wind energy development complex in eastern Idaho, USA. We assessed the influence of wind turbine density, habitat characteristics, brood hen age, hatch date, and weather on brood success and chick survival using an information‐theoretic model selection approach. Our findings demonstrate the importance of multiple variables, including wind energy development, to Columbian sharp‐tailed grouse brood success and chick survival.
Effective long-term wildlife conservation planning for a species must be guided by information about population vital rates at multiple scales. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) ...populations declined substantially during the twentieth century, largely as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation. In addition to the importance of conserving large tracts of suitable habitat, successful conservation of this species will require detailed information about factors affecting vital rates at both the population and range-wide scales. Research has shown that sage-grouse population growth rates are particularly sensitive to hen and chick survival rates. While considerable information on hen survival exists, there is limited information about chick survival at the population level, and currently there are no published reports of factors affecting chick survival across large spatial and temporal scales. We analyzed greater sage-grouse chick survival rates from 2 geographically distinct populations across 9 years. The effects of 3 groups of related landscape-scale covariates (climate, drought, and phenology of vegetation greenness) were evaluated. Models with phenological change in greenness (NDVI) performed poorly, possibly due to highly variable production of forbs and grasses being masked by sagebrush canopy. The top drought model resulted in substantial improvement in model fit relative to the base model and indicated that chick survival was negatively associated with winter drought. Our overall top model included effects of chick age, hen age, minimum temperature in May, and precipitation in July. Our results provide important insights into the possible effects of climate variability on sage-grouse chick survival.
Abstract
Because home ranges for many sensitive wildlife species often transcend jurisdictions, species conservation requires collaborative efforts to engage multiple stakeholders. The West Box Elder ...County Coordinated Resource Management (CRM) in northwestern Utah initially organized as a greater sage‐grouse (
Centrocercus urophasianus
) local working group (LWG), evolved through a CRM process, to enhance local governance across jurisdictional boundaries by engaging a wider range of public and private partners in species conservation and community development. By completing landscape scale management and development projects, the CRM has benefitted wildlife and local ranchers and contributed to enhancing the social and economic well‐being of rural residents in the county. In 2019, to identify the operational mechanisms of governance that enabled the CRM to achieve long‐term sustainability while meeting community and species conservation needs, we interviewed 17 key stakeholders (8 private, 6 state, and 3 federal) who had been involved in both the LWG and CRM since their inception. Each interview addressed the CRM's origin, support and synergy, administration, communications, outcomes, and improvements. Qualitative analysis of responses revealed that 1) participation by representatives of federal and state government agencies was paramount for funding and program structure, 2) landowner involvement was necessary for long‐term stability and persistence, 3) intergroup communication has improved, and 4) trust of local landowners between state and federal agencies has been enhanced. However, respondents were concerned that the CRM governance process should be re‐evaluated periodically to mitigate stakeholder burnout and group cohesion deterioration. The re‐evaluation could help temper unrealistic expectations relative to sustaining momentum the CRM has achieved over the last decade and establish new goals to better address current conservation issues. Our results may be applicable by other rural communities who desire enhanced local governance to identify and address emerging community development needs and species conservation.
In this issue of Human-Wildlife Interactions, our authors provide keen, powerful insights based on global research involving human interactions with amphibians, bears, birds, canids, amphibians, and ...ungulates. Adult bison can weigh >900 kg and run >50 kph. ...the U.S. National Park Service has recommended that visitors stay at least 20-25 m away from wild animals like bison and elk (Cervus canadensis) and 90 m away from bears (Ursus spp.) and other carnivores. Not understanding wild animal behavior, coupled with an inability to judge what constitutes a safe distance when using our smartphone to capture our wildlife encounter, can be a recipe for disaster.
One Health has become more important in recent years because interactions between people, animals, plants, and our environment have dramatically changed. This Back Page article discusses One Health ...during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Digital Commons, in addition to providing an easy portal for online submissions, has increased the number of submissions HWI receives, expedited the review and decision process, and thus enabled us ...to reduce the time from author submission to publication. In doing so, we hope to provide a permanent repository for human-wildlife conflict management science and case studies that document and share manager experiences and lessons learned with others. Without our authors' willingness to have their science and experiences veted through our peer-review process, and our reviewers' and editors' willingness to provide their expertise to provide the peer-review, we would not exist.
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