nited tates epartment of griculture atural esources onservation ervice arm ervice gency eriously age-rouse pril 0 elping eople elp the and
eriously age-rouse ow cience eard bout age-rouse eriwether ewis first observed sage-grouse at the mouth of the arias iver on une 6, 805. he bird was new to science then and plentiful throughout the western part of what is now the nited tates. ournals from the ewis and lark expedition record sage-grouse encounters from the mouth of the arias iver, up the issouri iver to amp ortunate, along the trail to emhi ass, along the almon iver, down the learwater iver, then to the confluence of the alla alla iver with the olumbia. ince its first recorded sighting more than 00 years ago, the sage-grouse has experienced a large decline in population. ind the way through this maze and you will see the route ewis and lark took from the mouth of the arias iver in ontana to the acific oast in regon. int: sage-grouse are pictured on the map at the places where the explorers recorded sightings. arias. issouri. olumbia. alla alla learwater. almon amp ortunate emhi ass age
eriously age-rouse hat o hey ook ike? emales are mottled brown, black, and white. ales are larger and, in spring, they have a large white ruff around their necks, a yellow eye comb, and bright yellow air sacks on their breasts, which they inflate to show off to females. ales have a black throat. he feathers on the back, wings, and tail are mostly brown, with some white and black spots. oth sexes have black bellies outlined with white. his male sage-grouse is showing off to a female. olor him in so he looks the way he is described above. eye comb throat air sack ruff belly sagebrush leaves ow big do they grow? he greater sage-grouse is a large, round-winged, ground-dwelling bird. t can grow up to 30 inches long and two feet tall, weighing from / to 7 pounds. t has a long, pointed tail with legs feathered to the base of the toes. hat do they eat? age-grouse eat sagebrush leaves, forbs (wildflowers) and insects. t s the only animal that, in winter, can live on a 00 percent sagebrush diet. hicks must have a high quality insect diet for the first several weeks after hatching. age 3
eriously age-rouse here o hey ive? age-grouse live in ontana and 0 other estern states (alifornia, olorado, daho, evada, orth akota, regon, outh akota, tah, ashington, and yoming). hey also live in the anadian provinces of lberta and askatchewan. onnect the dots to show the boundaries of where sage-grouse live today. he gray area on the map shows the boundaries of where they lived in the past. hy do they live where they live? regon 3 33 3 30 34 alifornia ritish olumbia 4 3 ashington 8 9 5 35 7 6 36 37 evada 5 39 4 38 40 4 lberta 50 49 ontana 48 47 44 46 43 45 3 daho tah 0 9 8 yoming he birds prefer to live at rizona ew exico elevations ranging from 4,000 to 9,000 feet and depend on sagebrush for food and cover. n ontana alone, there are about 7 million acres of sagebrush steppe capable of providing habitat for sage-grouse. 4 5 askatchewan 4 3 4 3 5 6 7 0 9 5 6 olorado 7 8 exas orth akota outh akota ebraska ansas klahoma ho owns the land where they live? bout 40 percent of sage-grouse habitat is privately owned, mostly by ranchers. he other 60 percent is mostly public land. age 4
eriously age-rouse ow o age-rouse ave abies? age-grouse reproduce by laying eggs. emale sage-grouse (hens) lay two eggs in three days. ne nest can have seven to nine eggs in it. hicks inside the eggs grow (or incubate) for 8 days before they hatch. f a hen has eight eggs in her nest, how many days did it take her to lay those eight eggs? ow does an egg hatch? he chick inside the egg chips its way through the eggshell with an egg tooth, a temporary tip on its bill that helps the chick break the shell. he chick hatches after one to two days of pecking circular fractures around the large end of the egg, finally breaking through it. rossword puzzle 3. emale sage-grouse (pl.) 4. here eggs stay before they hatch 8. n animal that eats another animal 9. and divided into lots for real estate 0. aby sage-grouse (pl.). place where an animal lives 3 8 7 4 5 6. vergreen tree or shrub. he color of the air sacks on a male sage-grouse 5. nimals living in the wild 6. hen a cow or other animal eats grass for food 7. rovides food and cover for sage-grouse 0 9 hat is a lek? ne of the most unique characteristics of the greater sage-grouse is the ritual used for mating. lek is a gathering of males for the purpose of competitive display (strutting) and mating. ales commonly roost overnight near the lek, and before sunrise, will move to the lek and display. his will continue for a couple of hours following sunrise, arch through ay. age 5
age 6 eriously age-rouse predator is an animal that eats another animal. redators of sage-grouse can be either other birds or animals that hunt on the ground. ther bird predators: black-billed magpie, common raven, olden eagle, orthern harrier, and prairie falcon. round predators: badger, bobcat, bull snake, coyote, raccoon, red fox, skunk, and weasel. ind and circle the names of these predators of sage-grouse in the word puzzle. ho re the redators of age-rouse? -
eriously age-rouse hy re here ewer age-rouse ow? ragmentation (breaking a large area up into several unconnected areas) of sagebrush habitats from a number of sources is the main cause of the decline in sage-grouse populations. ther reasons include exotic species invasion, unsustainable grazing systems, sodbusting, subdivision, and conifer encroachment. hat do these words mean? raw a line from the word to its definition. ragmentation agebrush abitat opulation redator xotic nvasion nsustainable razing system odbusting ubdivision onifer ncroachment ll the individuals of one species in a given area o be broken apart place in which an animal or plant normally lives or grows o move beyond an established limit n animal that lives by capturing and eating other animals o break land out of grass to plant to a crop he act of spreading into or over annot be supported or maintained vergreen tree or shrub planned method of animals eating grasses and other plants that keeps the plants healthy f foreign origin; not native; introduced from another place plant having silvery, wedge-shaped leaves, common in the western nited tates portion of land divided into lots for real-estate development reak the code 4 5 3 7 4 3 6 4 7 3 7 4 7 3 4 6 6 7 4 5 3 4 4 3 6 4 5 3 7 4 3 4 5 6 7 age 7
eriously age-rouse hat s good for cows is generally good for sage-grouse, too. he atural esources onservation ervice () works with ranchers to develop grazing systems that are good for their land, their cows or sheep, and the sage-grouse. anchers often use the following practices that are good for the land and good for the sage-grouse: razing systems that allow cattle and sheep to be moved from pasture to pasture to keep grass high enough to hide sage-grouse nests. arkers placed on fences so sage-grouse see the fences and don t fly into them. scape ramps placed in stock water tanks for sage-grouse and other wildlife to use if they get into a stock water tank by accident. eed removal to improve native grass cover. ow an e elp? nswer eys: p. 3 8 4 9 7 5 6 ragmentation agebrush abitat opulation redator xotic nvasion ll the individuals of one species in a given area o be broken apart place in which an animal or plant normally lives or grows o move beyond an established limit n animal that lives by capturing and eating other animals o break land out of grass to plant to a crop he act of spreading into or over annot be supported or maintained nsustainable vergreen tree or shrub p. 5 0 razing system odbusting planned method of animals eating grasses and other plants that keeps the plants healthy 3 33 30 3 34 8 9 5 4 3 35 7 6 36 5 37 4 38 4 39 40 4 3 43 44 0 45 8 9 p. 4 5 46 47 48 49 50 6 7 4 5 3 4 3 5 6 7 0 9 8 ubdivision onifer ncroachment 4 5 3 p. 7 7 4 3 6 4 7 3 7 4 7 3 4 6 6 7 4 5 3 4 4 3 6 4 5 3 7 4 p. 6 p. 7 f foreign origin; not native; introduced from another place plant having silvery, wedge-shaped leaves, common in the western nited tates portion of land divided into lots for real-estate development 04// is an equal opportunity provider and employer. age 8