Greater Sage-Grouse

The Sagebrush Sea: Film & Discussion

Tuesday, August 18, 2015 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm
  • Library Hall

Conservation Colorado, Audubon Rockies and the Bud Werner Memorial Library present a documentary film and discussion about sage-grouse and the landscape in Northwest Colorado that continues to support these iconic birds.

North America's iconic sagebrush steppe is far more than the forgotten backdrop of a Hollywood Western – it is a vast wilderness spanning 250,000 square miles which, at second glance, is brimming with hardy life. In this immense ecosystem anchored by the sage, eagles and antelope, badgers and lizards, rabbits, wrens, owls, prairie dogs, songbirds, hawks and migrating birds make their homes. The Sagebrush Sea follows the Greater sage-grouse – an increasingly rare bird with an otherworldly display – through a year on the steppe.

Following the screening, a discussion will focus on the film, the science around this iconic bird, and the issues that have brought so many parties into the discussion about this species’ future, and will include a Q&A with Matt Holloran, chief scientist for the research non-profit Wildlife Management Research Support and co-principal and senior ecologist for Wyoming Wildlife Consultants, LLC, a specialist in the long-term research of sagebrush-obligate wildlife species and the effects of anthropogenic activity, especially energy development, on sage-grouse populations. 

Learn more about Colorado's sagebrush lands through displays and outreach booths provided by Conservation Colorado, Audubon Rockies, Yampa Valley Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, Yampa Valley Birding Club, Yampa Valley Crane Festival, Yampatika and other organizations, starting at 6 p.m. in the hallway leading to Libary Hall. Light refreshments will be available.

Run time: 1 hour

Photo courtesy Gerrit Vyn/Cornell Lab