20210626 03185300 1.0 TRUE Greater Sage Grouse - Core Area This layer represents the Greater Sage Grouse - Core Area which represents the core area for Sage-grouse activity in Alberta and is an amalgamation of various data sources, including: observation records from the Government of Alberta’s Fisheries and Wildlife Management Information System (FWMIS), sage-grouse movement information, locations of known leks (i.e., dancing grounds), portions of federally identified critical habitat and other important habitats. Observational records from FWMIS included fifty years of survey and research data collected by provincial wildlife biologists, non-governmental organizations, and independent researchers. The Greater Sage-grouse Core Area amalgamates the Greater Sage-grouse Range and Greater Sage-grouse Habitat and Buffer datasets, including lek and habitat information(Alberta's dataset, which identifies habitat areas for nesting, brood-rearing, and over-wintering. Locations of all leks were generated from UTM coordinates collected from Alberta Environment and Parks,researchers, and the FWMIS. Lek centroids werebuffered by 100 metresto approximate lek sizeand an additional 3,200 meters buffer was then applied based on established research on impacts of disturbance to lek attendance. Locations from radio-collared and translocated Sage-grouse females (years: 2011, 2012, 2016, 2019) were also included to identify habitats and areas important during sensitive periods of the species' annual life cycle. The Greater Sage-grouse Core Areabuilds off federally identified critical habitat and lands idenitified in the federal Emegency Order for the Protection of the Greater Sage-Grouse (SOR/2013-202). Private land, federal land and areas converted to agriculture (with no suitable silver sage habitat) were excluded. The resulting single contiguous polygon was reviewed by Alberta Environment and Parks' species experts to validate and provided additional insight. This layer is not visible beyond the scale of 1:6,933,486. Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus urophasianus) are an endangered species in Alberta. The Greater Sage-grouse Core Area provides the general public, industrial operators and government departments with information on the location of vital habitats and areas necessary to prevent exttirpation of Greater Sage-grouse in Alberta. The amended area represents the “core” habitat and contains the majority of usage points, known nest locations, brood rearing habitat, and lek sites. The new area boundaires cover off known gaps in the core area that have high quality sage-grouse habitat or records of use from translocated hens (nests, brood observations, winter use). Land use activities directly and indirectly contribute to disturbance of sage-grouse and degradation of their habitats, decreasing the effectiveness and likelihood of Sage-grouse recovery in Alberta.This updated boundary more accurately represents the core area of sage-grouse in Alberta and provides greater certainty for users and proponents to identify areas where specific Conditions apply. In combination with the Greater Sage-grouse Recovery Zone, this Greater Sage-grouse Core Area dataset supports the implementation of necessary land use guidelines, standards and conditions that incorporate the sensitive nature of this species and enable species conservation and recovery. Data Use Limitations This material has been provided with the intent that it be readily available for personal andpublic non-commercial (educational) use and except where otherwise prohibited, may be reproduced, in part or in whole and by any means, without charge or further permission from the Fish and Wildlife Stewardship Branch. We only ask that: The materials not be modified, users exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials, the Government of Alberta be identified as the source of the materials, the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor as having been made in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Government of Alberta, reproduction of multiple copies of materials, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial distribution is prohibited, except with written permission from theFish and Wildlife Stewardship Branch. To obtain permission to reproduce materialson this site for commercial purposes, please contact the Fish and Wildlife Stewardship Branch. Copyright Government of Alberta