A male sage grouse puffs out a pair of air sacs to attract females on a mating site on the Oregon side of the McDermitt Caldera near the Nevada state line.
Cameron Nielsen / OPB
Populations of the Greater Sage Grouse have dropped by 80% over the last 60 years. That’s because the iconic bird depends on high desert sagebrush for food and habitat.
And that habitat has been threatened for decades by wildfire, human activity and invasive species. A historic agreement that came together in 2015 to protect these birds and keep them off the endangered species list has helped turn that trend around.
But now, a potential lithium mine could blow up the whole deal.
OPB “Oregon Field Guide” producer Cassandra Profita fills us in on the details and you can see the video and article she recently produced about sage grouse here.
We also hear from journalist Ashley Ahearn, who created an eight-episode podcast series called “Grouse” all about the birds and what they can teach us about compromise and life in rural America.
Listen to all episodes of The Evergreen podcast here.
