2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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9/25/2018 | 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM | The Effects of Electric Power Lines on the Breeding Ecology of Greater Sage-Grouse | Eccles Conference Center Auditorium

The Effects of Electric Power Lines on the Breeding Ecology of Greater Sage-Grouse

Anthropogenic infrastructure can negatively affect wildlife. Grassland birds may be particularly vulnerable to tall anthropogenic structures because they evolved in ecosystems void of vertical structures. In the western U.S., electric power transmission and distribution lines occur within the range of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended using buffer zones near leks to mitigate the impacts of power lines on sage-grouse. However, because data are lacking, recommended buffer zones are inconsistent across state and federal agencies. To address this, we evaluated the effects of power lines on sage-grouse breeding ecology within Utah and the surrounding areas from 1998-2013. Power lines negatively affected lek trends and persistence at distances up to 2.7 and 2.8 km, respectively. Female sage-grouse were displaced by transmission lines during the nesting and brooding seasons at distances up to 1.1 and 0.8 km, respectively. Nest and brood success reduced by transmission lines up to distances of 2.6 and 1.1 km, respectively. Distribution lines did not affect sage-grouse habitat selection or reproductive fitness. Moreover, our analyses demonstrated the value of habitat quality in mitigating power line impacts. Thus, conservation planners can minimize the effects of new power lines by placing them in existing anthropogenic corridors and/or incorporating no surface occupancy buffers within 2.8 km from active leks. Given this is the first landscape-level comparison examining the relationship between power lines and sage-grouse breeding habitat, our results are relevant to sage-grouse management as well as other galliformes that are affected by anthropogenic structures.

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Presenters/Authors

Michel Kohl (), Utah State University, michel.kohl@usu.edu;