Effective conservation requires an understanding of how species respond to management actions.� For species of conservation concern such as greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), this understanding is urgently needed.� We developed resource selection functions to assess the influence of mechanical treatments of mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata vaseyana) on habitat selection by greater sage-grouse during the critical brooding period.� We used model selection and a 19-year telemetry data set (1998-2016) to evaluate response of greater sage-grouse to treatments.� Statistical models were built using 418 locations from 72 females with broods (333 locations, 61 females pre-treatment; 85 locations, 11 females post-treatment).� Shrub canopy cover decreased (mean � SE) from 31.81 � 0.70% to 16.16 � 0.89% following mechanical treatment (P�< 0.05).� Grass cover increased from 12.02 � 0.51% to 31.33 � 1.52% after treatment (P�< 0.05).� Post-treatment forb cover (12.58 � 1.23%) did not differ from pre-treatment estimates (12.39 � 0.61%;�P�= 0.98).� Overall, greater sage-grouse selected areas that were 1) farther from trees, paved roads, and powerlines, 2) higher in elevation, 3) nearer treatment edges, and 4) consisting of gentler slopes.� Post-treatment sage-grouse showed stronger selection for areas near treatments than did pre-treatment sage-grouse.� Maps predicting probability of selection by brood-rearing sage-grouse showed increased use in and around mechanically-treated areas.� This altered pattern of selection by sage-grouse with broods suggests mechanical treatments may be a suitable way to increase use of mountain big sagebrush during the brooding period.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.