In the 20 or so years that I have been learning about, researching, and conserving birds, there has been one bird family more than any other that has consistently challenged me: the Grouse. 

As a younger man, hunting in the north woods of Michigan with my brother and his dogs Bo and Luke, it was the Ruffed Grouse that we would chase through young aspen thickets hoping for a clear shot that rarely came. In Grad school, I set out on the Sagebrush Steppe of Wyoming and Montana in search of an answer to the question “how can we save the Sage Grouse?” a question we’re still asking. In my first job as a professional biologist, I worked with ranchers and land managers to restore habitats with the hope of bringing back populations of the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken (a subspecies of the Greater Prairie Chicken and member of the grouse family) to the Gulf Coastal Plains of Texas. And now it’s another member of this family, the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, that occupies my thoughts as it clings to the tattered edge of the short grass prairie ecosystem that remains in Eastern New Mexico. 

The family that all these species belong to (including their extinct relative the Heath Hen) is Tetraonidae, the Grouse, and it isn’t just me that finds themself vexed by these unique and at times peculiar birds. If you follow news about conservation and wildlife, you’ve likely heard of both the Sage Grouse and Lesser Prairie-Chicken before. For decades now, we have fought for the continued survival of these species. While there have been successes along the way, these birds continue to be imperiled by low populations and further habitat loss. In the decades to come as a changing climate brings more fire, drought, and aridity to the Western United States, it may be other Grouse like the Spruce and Dusky Grouse in the mountains that begin to feel the pinch. Or, perhaps, it’ll be the Greater Prairie Chicken or Sharp-tailed Grouse that need our help next.  

There are plenty of reasons why this family of birds is so challenging to conservationists. The first—one of the defining features of all Grouse wherever they are on the globe: these birds are walkers, not flyers. This survival strategy allows them to occupy a niche in space and time that few other birds compete for and has proven to be successful for them. But, there is a major catch to a pedestrian lifestyle, it makes migration difficult. Instead, these birds spend their whole year in one area, procuring their supplies from what remains through the seasons. This places a whole bunch of pressure on the landscape to provide, and as we have altered that habitat, its ability to support these birds year-round has been compromised. 

Another challenge these birds present is a ridiculously high annual mortality rate, up to 60% each year. An old colleague of mine in Texas used to say that these birds spend their day walking around, looking for a place to die. Dark description, but it seems about right. However, this high mortality is offset by an equally high reproductive rate when conditions are right. The result is a boom-bust population cycle that tracks pretty closely with rainfall in most areas. If you have a good rain year, chances are next spring, you’ll have a bumper crop of grouse. Of course, this becomes a challenge in a changing climate where heat waves and extreme drought become commonplace, good years are hard to find, and as a result, so are grouse. 

And now, with the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, our work to keep these birds alive has become exponentially more difficult as our efforts to address the climate crisis are providing the newest threat to their habitat. The build out of renewable energy generation and transmission in the Great Plains has the potential to be highly disruptive to these birds. Solar Farms, wind turbines, transmission lines, and new roads all provide their own potential threats to Lesser Prairie-Chicken habitat. But these impacts are avoidable if the renewable energy buildout happens in a thoughtful and science-based manner. 

Which is why we were eager to read the federal Bureau of Land Management’s latest version of their Western Solar Plan which will determine where and how utility-scale PV solar is sited and permitted on public lands across 11 states. The updated proposal improves on the initial draft and strikes a clearer balance between solar energy development and wildlife conservation. The plan benefits both climate and conservation by clarifying where solar PV development should and should not go on public lands, and how it should be developed to protect important cultural and natural resources. 

Audubon is still reviewing the plan but you can see our statement and read the full plan here. We hope this plan provides another piece of the puzzle that is grouse conservation in the west. My mother always tells me that the hardest thing to do and the right thing to do are often one in the same. The challenge of saving these species as we transition to a renewable energy-based economy is the embodiment of that. But, if we follow the science and make smart choices on these landscapes, we will rise to this challenge and ensure the Lesser Prairie Chicken and the rest of the grouse have a home in the American West.