Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus) selected areas with increased herbaceous cover and less bare ground. This type of habitat is generally found in areas with none to little livestock influences. Grouse also preferred sites with a greater amount of decreaser forb species. Arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) and bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum) were major components of preferred grouse microhabitats; both of these plant species decrease with overgrazing and are important factors species in later seral stages. This study suggests that shrub steppe communities, in later seral stages, are important to maintain summer grouse habitat in the Intermountain West.
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