Devlin Holloway
From 2016-2019, ONDA conducted habitat monitoring in two locations in southeast Oregon sage-grouse habitat.
Beatys Butte - The Beatys Butte study area is within the Beatys Butte Sagebrush Focal Area, one of the most important areas in the nation for the long term survival of the Greater Sage-Grouse. The region also encompasses the majority of the land between Hart Mountain NAR and Sheldon NWR, a critical linkage for regional wildlife migrations.
Louse Canyon - The Louse Canyon study area is within the Louse Canyon Sagebrush Focal Area, one of the most important areas in the nation for the long term survival of the Greater Sage-Grouse. The surrounding region boasts the highest numbers of sage-grouse in the state and encompasses numerous wet meadow and riparian areas critical for wildlife in southeastern Oregon.
The Bureau of Land Management’s sage-grouse plans were finalized in 2015 to address the dramatic declines of sage-grouse populations and their habitat across the west.
In both study areas, ONDA monitored how the BLM management plans to protect sage-grouse and their habitat are being implemented on the ground. The monitoring effort included surveying for and measuring important plant groups critical to sage-grouse and other wildlife species in the sagebrush steppe.
ONDA began surveys in Beatys Butte in 2016 and Louse Canyon in 2017.
Beatys Butte – ONDA monitored 425,000 acres of sage-grouse habitat twice each year during the 2016 and 2017 field seasons.
Louse Canyon – ONDA monitored 140,000 acres of sage-grouse habitat twice each year in the 2017-2019 field seasons and nine wet meadow complexes twice each year from 2017-2022.