Use of Remote Sensing Methods in Modelling Sage Grouse Winter Habitat

Abstract

Populations of Rich County, Utah sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) have been declining in recent years. Because loss of winter habitat is a suspected factor, we used Landsat Thematic Mapper data to model structural and compositional attributes of sage grouse winter habitat over a 2,548-km2 area in Rich County, 1989-90. Of the 7 shrub and 1 no-shrub classes delineated from the Thematic Mapper, sage grouse preferred 3, avoided 3, and demonstrated no preference for the remaining 2. To determine if the model could be extrapolated to other unsampled areas, we tested model validity with 2 independent data sets from the northern and southern ends of the county. Model fit was excellent (P = 0.984). The successful development of this Geographic Information System model demonstrates the future capability of remote sensing/Geographic Information System applications to model structural and compositional attributes of wildlife habitat over large spatial scales.