Trends in greater sage-grouse breeding populations are typically indexed by determining the peak number of males attending a lek in a lekking season. Numerous studies have estimated negative trends in sage-grouse breeding populations over time via data collected for the last 50 years. However, the inherent bias in data collection...
It is unlikely all male sage-grouse are detected during lek counts, which could complicate the use of lek counts as an index to population abundance. Understanding factors that influence detection probabilities will allow managers to more accurately estimate the number of males present on leks. We fitted 410 males with...
Counts of males attending leks in the spring have been the primary means employed by states to monitor status of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophansianus) populations for over 75 years. Despite limitations and potential biases, lek count data remain the only long-term, range-wide dataset available for evaluating trends in sage-grouse populations....
During the 2016 greater sage-grouse breeding season, 1,908 aerial and ground lek surveys were conducted at 768 individual lek sites comprising 501 lek complexes. Surveys were conducted at 66.0% of known lek sites in the state, which was the greatest proportion of leks ever surveyed in Oregon. Survey effort during...
During the 2017 greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) breeding season, 1,580 aerial and ground lek surveys were conducted at 674 individual lek sites comprising 429 lek complexes. Surveys were conducted at 58.0% of known lek sites in the state. Survey effort during 2017 declined -17.1%, -12.2%, and 14.5% from 2016 levels,...