Nor will one or two acres of the shrub do. Not all sage grouse migrate, however. If all of the components of their habitat are available within one area, they'll stick around. As important as sagebrush is to sage grouse, it is equally vital to arid ecosystems. The shrub adds water to droughty soils by acting as a natural snow fence, collecting windblown snow on its lee side.
Soil dries out more quickly where sagebrush is removed.
The greater sage grouse is only one of dozens of species tied to sagebrush ecosystems, directly or indirectly. Some, such as the pronghorn and the prairie falcon, are familiar. As the once-unbroken expanses of sagebrush vanish, these species disappear, too. Still, sagebrush is despised by many as a weed. Historically, it covered an estimated 155 million acres of the region, dominating an area nearly the size of Texas.