PINEDALE — An experimental project by two Pinedale biologists shows promise for helping Greater Sage-Grouse during their crucial mating season.

Therese Hartman, Wyoming Game and Fish biologist and Theresa Gulbrandson, BLM Pinedale biologist, suspected sage-grouse were being negatively impacted by nearby drilling rigs. Hartman decided to try something new.

Hartman learned of a 1970’s sage-grouse decoy project that was designed to lure the birds away from mining hazards impacting the bird’s breeding grounds. After researching, she decided to experiment with the concept of using sage-grouse decoys to lure sage-grouse into new breeding areas.

She designed her own paper-mache’ sage-grouse decoys.  Pinedale Middle School eighth-grade science students helped make the decoys and then accompanied Hartman during her annual sage-grouse count.  The Pinedale students also won an award at the Wyoming State Science Fair for their efforts.

With 16 decoys made, Gulbrandson and Hartman selected five locations to lure sage-grouse away from lek locations being negatively impacted by oil and gas development. For the 2015 sage-grouse breeding season at a Pinedale Anticline location, they also chose three alternate lek locations­ – less than one mile from the original leks. The biologists created the alternate locations by having the sagebrush mowed in a roughly five-acre area.

The biologists then created two other locations, roughly 10 acres each, also just outside of Pinedale. After careful planning, each alternate lek was mowed to create the open area sage-grouse need for their breeding grounds. At several of these locations, a recording of sage-grouse mating sounds was played from six to seven a.m. each day during the spring breeding season. The decoys and the mating sounds were used to lure the birds to the alternate lek locations during the breeding season.

The biologists were pleasantly surprised when sage-grouse used four of the five alternate lek locations. One day, 19 sage-grouses used one of the new locations, the highest number at any of the alternate leks. Biologists note that a large sage-grouse lek can have up to 100 birds using the area.

Scientists believe that sage-grouse breeding behavior is affected by noise that may interfere with the bird’s ability to hear the mating sounds of fellow birds, which functions to attract mates. The new, alternate lek locations were significantly quieter than the original leks being impacted by oil and gas development noise.

“With little expectation, we began this decoy project to provide sage-grouse with an optional lekking location, hoping they would choose the alternate location over abandoning the existing lek and leaving the area as we have witnessed at other leks experiencing gas field development activity,” said Hartman.

The biologists are cautiously optimistic about their findings, and point out that data for full validity and any decision making are still being gathered.  But they were pleased with the results of their first year of the sage-grouse decoy experiment and hope that innovative methods such as these help the plight of the Greater Sage-Grouse.