Western Wyoming is home to many sage-grouse mating and nesting sites. And in recent years, it’s also become a hub of oil and gas extraction. Matt Holloran knows this all too well. He did his PhD — back in 2000 — on Greater Sage-Grouse and how natural gas drilling affects them, and he's been studying the birds ever since. Ashley Ahearn heads to oil and gas country to visit a lek with Holloran. She also interviews Paul Ulrich, VP of Jonah Energy, who says there’s “more work to be done,” and it will involve bringing people together to look for shared solutions to keep sage-grouse around.
This episode contains brief, explicit language at 1:08.
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This episode of BirdNote Presents was made possible with generous support from Jim and Birte Falconer.
Aerial shot of natural gas drilling sites in the Jonah Field of Western Wyoming © SkyTruth.org
Grouse artwork by Kima Lenaghan