Current Projects:

From the high alpine basins surrounding Telluride to the dry desert regions of southwest Colorado, our lands and rivers host an abundance of wildlife, including endangered and threatened species as Canada lynx, Gunnison sage grouse, Gunnison prairie dog, American pika, Rocky Mountain big horn sheep, Colorado cutthroat trout, razorback sucker, Colorado pike minnow and humpback chub.

Gunnison Sage Grouse

After joining with our conservation partners to successfully overturn the initial decision not to list the Gunnison sage grouse as endangered, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife has proposed to list the once-abundant bird as endangered. This decision created a deluge of opposition, and questionable science is emerging to show that the bird’s population is stable. The bird’s San Miguel County population decreased from over 400 in the mid 1990s to less than 100 in 2013. SMA is a part of the San Miguel Basin Sage Grouse Working Group that was formed in 2006 to protect the population and restore habitat for the bird. Although huge efforts have been made, the San Miguel Basin population is in danger of disappearing all together.

Sheep Mountain Alliance has worked to fight for protection of critical habitat land in Colorado, as designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We also continue to oppose oil and gas development in Sage Grouse and Wild Horse habitat, and to protect elk migration corridors and monitor policies around predator animals like cougars and mountain lions. Currently, we are involved in the Gunnison Sage Grouse Resource Plan Amendment. We are advocating for larger buffers between grouse habitat and roads, resource extraction, and protection through Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs).