Where have all the sage grouse gone? A conservation mystery in south-central Washington

In south-central Washington’s patchwork of sagebrush and agricultural fields, one man is spending his early, early mornings searching for sage grouse. If he finds the quirky birds — that could mean more funding for the ecosystem. But the task isn’t easy.

It’s been years since anyone has officially seen the chicken-sized greater sage grouse at their mating grounds — known as leks — in Horse Heaven Hills.

“(The year of) 2018 was the last time we documented any male grouse on that lek. So at that point, the state thought these birds were gone,” said Seth Hulett, Audubon Washington’s senior program manager of the Columbia Plateau. That includes land in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Sage grouse were extirpated from this area in the 1960s. In the early 2000s, the Yakama Nation brought birds in — mostly from Nevada, and a few from Idaho and Wyoming. Eventually, they flew off tribal lands and onto private ones, Hulett said.

Read more: Where have all the sage grouse gone? A conservation mystery in south-central Washington