November Program – New Home on the Range
November 9 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
New Home on the Range: Reintroducing Sharp-tailed Grouse to Western Montana
PROGRAM
Sharp-tailed Grouse were once abundant in intermountain grasslands west of the Continental Divide in Montana, but populations declined as the region developed, and sharp-tails became locally extirpated by the early 2000s. However, sharp-tails still thrive in the prairies of eastern Montana, where each spring males gather at leks and perform their elaborate courtship dances. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks began reintroducing Sharp-tailed Grouse to western Montana in 2021. Each spring, sharp-tails are captured at leks in central and eastern Montana, transported across the state by volunteers, and released at sites in the Bitterroot, Blackfoot, and Drummond Valleys. To date, more than 800 grouse have been translocated!
Each Sharp-tailed Grouse receives a radio collar or a GPS transmitter, allowing our research team to monitor them throughout the year using telemetry. We track female movements and habitat use as they find a home range, search for a mate, nest, and raise a brood. We’ve been encouraged by the successful fledging of more than 200 chicks and the establishment of 5 new leks at the reintroduction sites. By studying translocated grouse, we’ve learned what influences their behavior and survival after they are released, helping us improve our conservation strategies.
Now, five years later, Sharp-tailed Grouse are dancing in western Montana again. How can we make sure that they are here to stay?
Membership Meeting Program Info.
The in-person meeting will be held Monday, November 9, 2026 at Hope Lutheran Church, 2152 West Graf (off S. 19th). A social begins at 6:30 PM; the program begins at 7:00 PM. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own reusable cups.
For virtual attendance, please register at: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2901854636854861920
Attendees—whether in person or virtual—are encouraged to share their bird sightings at this and every monthly program.
SAS monthly programs are free and open to the public, featuring a special guest speaker the 2nd Monday of each month, September through May. For more information, contact programs@sacajaweaaudubon.org.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKER
Laura Dykstra is a Ph.D. candidate in the Wildlife Habitat Ecology Lab at Montana State University. She studies the movements and demography of Sharp-tailed Grouse reintroduced to western Montana, in collaboration with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and has spent the past four summers tracking sharp-tails with radio collars across cattle ranches. Her research focuses on science-based wildlife conservation on working lands, particularly on finding strategies to improve translocation outcomes. Laura received her M.S. from the University of Connecticut, where she researched Mallards in exurban landscapes. She grew up in suburban southern Ohio, where studying the Red-shouldered Hawk introduced her to wildlife research. She enjoys birding around Bozeman, especially finding a Prairie Falcon on winter raptor surveys.
