The impacts of noise on greater sage-grouse: A discussion of current management strategies in Wyoming with recommendations for further research and interim protections Prepared for: The Bureau of Land Management, Lander Field Office and Wyoming State Office, Cheyenne and Wyoming Game and Fish Department Dr. Gail L. Patricelli, Associate Professor Jessica L. Blickley, PhD Candidate in Ecology Dr. Stacie L. Hooper, Postdoctoral Researcher Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 email:
[email protected] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recent research has demonstrated that noise from natural gas development negatively impacts sage- grouse abundance, stress levels and behaviors (Blickley et al. 2012; Blickley & Patricelli 2012; Blickley et al. In review). Other types of anthropogenic noise sources (e.g. infrastructure from oil, geothermal, mining and wind development, off-road vehicles, highways and urbanization) are similar to gas-development noise and thus the response by sage-grouse is likely to be similar. These results suggest that effective management of the natural soundscape is critical to the conservation and protection of sage-grouse. The goals of this report are to (I) discuss current approaches in the management of new and existing noise sources within and outside sage-grouse core areas of Wyoming, (II) recommend research priorities for establishing effective noise management strategies, and (III) provide managers and policy makers with recommendations for the interim protection of sage-grouse from known or expected impacts of increased noise levels using the best available science to date. I. Current Management Strategies in Wyoming In this report, we detail some concerns with current management strategies for noise.