The influence of a conservation‐based grazing program on greater sage‐grouse habitat selection

Abstract Understanding how vegetation management affects animals' habitat selection patterns is critical for comprehensive conservation planning. As part of a decade‐long study (2011–2019) of 486 adult female sage‐grouse in central Montana, we investigated how a conservation‐based grazing program (CGP) affected greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) habitat selection at two temporal scales: (a) the seasonal scale (four biologically relevant seasons) and (b) the annual scale. We used resource selection functions to assess sage‐grouse selection for pastures enrolled in a CGP as well as plant functional type and topography. We found that sage‐grouse strongly selected shrub cover, flatter slopes, and less tree cover. They selected CGP‐enrolled pastures (Pre‐, During‐, and Post‐grazing system implementation) over Non‐CGP pastures during all seasons except the summer–fall. During the summer–fall, they selected pastures where CGP implementation was complete. Future research is needed to determine whether selection for CGP‐enrolled pastures was due to unmeasured, underlying differences between CGP and non‐CGP pastures or CGP enrollment patterns rather than effects of different grazing systems, as well as whether these habitat selection differences are linked to demographic rates or population dynamics.