Eastern Segment 



Sage grouse and sagebrush are inseparable; thus, sage 

 grouse habitat is the same as the sagebrush-grassland vegetation 

 type. South of the Missouri River, sage grouse are mostly found 

 east of a north-south line that extends through Winifred. There 

 is a remnant population that occupies the west side of Arrow 

 Creek and the "Big Sage" area between the mouths of Arrow Creek 

 and the Judith River. North of the Missouri River, sage grouse 

 are found throughout the heads of all major drainages wherever 

 the sagebrush-grassland vegetation type occurs. Sage grouse dis- 

 tribution was documented through observations made during the 

 study (Constan 1976, 77, 78 and Appendix Table 6). 



Primary emphasis during the study was placed upon locating 

 sage grouse wintering areas in the 1975-76 and 76-77 winters 

 and wintering areas used under the severe winter conditions of 

 the 1977-78 and 1978-79 winters. Data collected throughout the 

 study delineated sage grouse winter ranges used under average 

 winter conditions and under severe winter conditions (Figure 20), 

 A February 19 and 20, 1979 helicopter survey of the Birch Creek 

 drainage located numerous sage grouse wintering sites, and these 

 findings are presented in Figure 21 to provide a more detailed 

 delineation of these sites. 



During spring 19 79, several trips were made to census male 

 sage grouse on their strutting grounds. Poor observation condi- 

 tions and the earlier than usual movement of sage grouse off 

 their grounds before daylight, probably caused by the unusually 

 numerous raptors present, hindered the survey, and probably 

 caused counts that were too low. Sage grouse were counted on 

 8 grounds and a total of 186 cocks was observed (Table 17) . 

 This total was 6 percent lower than the total in 1978 and 22 

 percent less than the 1977 total. Even though the numbers of 

 cocks counted in 1979 and 1978 were down from tlie 1977 count, the 

 fall sage grouse populations of 1978 and 1979 appeared to be 

 high, and at a higher level than the 1977 fall level. 



During the 1978 summer, 2 broods were observed averaging 

 3.5 juveniles per brood. Region 4 sage grouse brood data for 



1978 had an average brood size of 5.6 juveniles per brood. 

 Region 4 bird production ratios taken from fall wing analyses 

 showed that in 1978 there were 197 juveniles per 100 adults. 

 After 6 straight years of below-average production, the 1978 

 production was above the 17-year average of 19 3 juveniles. 

 This substantiates the observation that fall sage grouse popu- 

 lations in 1978 were higher than in 1977. 



Hunter harvest was also up in 1978, as hunter harvest 

 questionnaire data estimated that 3,744 sage grouse were har- 

 vested in Fergus County. Harvest figures for 1977 and 1976 were 

 3,620 and 5,140, respectively. Data are not available for the 



1979 harvest; however, it appears that this harvest will be 

 equal to or better than the 1978 harvest. 



49 



