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Sage Creek Mine February 2009 <br />• two males documented at the lek in 2007 and no grouse observed at the lek in 2008. Attendance <br />at the Annan's Twentymile 3 lek also decreased substantially after a peak count of 23 males was <br />recorded in 1999. Between 2002 and 2008, grouse have been observed at or near the Annan's <br />Twentymile 3 lek in only three years (2004, 2007, and 2008). In 2007 and 2008, no displaying <br />grouse were observed at the lek but six and three grouse, respectively, were recorded foraging <br />north of the lek site. <br />Attendance at the Yoast Mine Road lek was fairly steady from the time it was discovered (2000) <br />through the two following years, with approximately 10 males in attendance each of those years. <br />However, with the exception of two individuals (sex undetermined) flushed from the site in 2005, no <br />grouse have been recorded at the lek from 2003 through 2008. <br />CDOW records (Yost 2007) indicate that the Trousdale lek has been active since at least 2002. In <br />2004, ICF Jones & Stokes biologists discovered a probable satellite location for the Trousdale lek <br />in SW NE Section 32 T6N:R87W. Since then, ICF Jones & Stokes biologists have documented no <br />grouse at the original lek site, but male attendance at the satellite location has steadily increased <br />• from 2 to more than 16 males in each year from 2004 to 2007. Grouse were again absent at the <br />original lek location during survey in 2008, but seven males and one female were recorded at the <br />satellite location. <br />The Fifer lek was discovered in 2005, when biologists observed at least 10 males and 2 females at <br />the lek site. However, the following years have been highly variable with one male documented in <br />2006 and at least 12 males observed in 2007. In 2008, only one male and a second individual (sex <br />undetermined) were recorded at or near the lek. <br />Reasons for the recent declines observed at many of the sharp - tailed grouse leks in the western <br />portion of the Sage Creek Mine survey area are largely unknown. Although deep snow conditions <br />in early spring 2008 may have contributed to relatively low counts at several leks, the dry annual <br />conditions during many previous years may have contributed to the observed decline. Marked <br />decreases in male attendance between 2000 and 2004 may have also been the result of grouse <br />moving to other newly established leks in the area, as at least three new leks were discovered <br />during that time. <br />16 <br />