SHARP-TAILED GROUSE RESTORATION IN WESTERN MONTANA

Ben Deeble will be the guest speaker at the January 10, 2022 Flathead Audubon ZOOM meeting at 7 PM. Sharp-tailed grouse have been absent in Western Montana for over 20 years. This fall the reintroduction of sharp-tailed grouse to western Montana was launched. The effort culminates years of habitat analysis, planning, and partnership by private landowners, non-governmental organizations, and public agencies.  The goal is to restore a sustainable population of sharptails for at least the next 50 years, reestablishing the full complement of Montana’s historically breeding bird species.

Ben has been studying and working to conserve western birds for nearly 30 years.  He earned his Master’s degree from the University of Montana in 1995 studying a remnant population of sharp-tailed grouse in the Blackfoot Valle.  He continued gaining experience working for Idaho Fish and Game and the Bureau of Land Management on sharptails and sage-grouse.  He went on to work for over a decade with the National Wildlife Federation from Missoula leading their sage-grouse conservation program westwide, eventually moving the project to Montana Audubon.  Presently he is president of the Big Sky Upland Bird Association, and is working in a public-private partnership to restore sharp-tailed grouse to western Montana.

For information on how to access the Zoom presentation, email info@flatheadaudubon.org.