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Conservation initiatives for sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) have adopted a core area model using breeding and nesting habitats as a proxy to focus protection within areas of high bird abundance.  Although widely viewed as effective this strategy omits other vital rates that drive population growth.  Across their range sage-grouse populations occupy seasonally arid landscapes. Scarcity of water resources in late summer commonly restricts availability of mesic habitats used for rearing chicks.  Past studies have linked chick survival as a key vital rate to availability of mesic habitats, yet little is known about how habitat distribution affects patterns of grouse abundance.  To inform future conservation this study quantifies spatial relationships among sage-grouse and late chick rearing habitat distribution.  Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite data was used to inventory and evaluate sage-grouse habitats across eastern Oregon and portions of northeast California, and northwest Nevada over a 27 year period (1984–2011).  We compared spatial patterns among late chick rearing habitats with a high rate of annual productivity to sage-grouse lek distribution using a Foxtail J function.  Results indicated a high rate of lek clustering from 2-10 km around late chick rearing habitats.   Proximity analyses of lek distribution showed 85% of populations breeding within 10 km of annually productive chick rearing habitats, of which 80% are privately owned.  Juxtaposition and land tenure suggest that females select nesting habitats based on their proximity to highly productive and privately-owned mesic habitats.  This finding further validates the core area strategy and highlights the importance of private lands in a holistic approach to lasting sage-grouse conservation.