Land Use Changes and Sharp-Tailed Grouse Breeding Behavior

The sharp-tailed grouse formerly inhabited much of the area which is now Nebraska. The sharp-tailed, along with its near relative, the greater prairie chicken, disappeared from parts of its former range which were put into intense cultivation. The 20,000 square mile area of the Sandhills were not suited to such cultivation and consequently is the remaining stronghold of the sharp-tailed in Nebraska. It is one of the more important sharp-tail ranges remaining in the United States. With continuing decreases in suitable sharp-tail habitat throughout its former range in the United States, it is important to understand land use trends and effects of these trends on the sharp-tail if we are to conserve this resource