by Terry Lidral
Sagebrush – according to the Nation Audubon Society, there are 165 million acres that make up an expansive sagebrush habitat in the powdery dry soil of American western deserts. The seemingly endless sagebrush landscape is often referred to as the “sagebrush sea.” Sagebrush country reaches out across the Western states from Iowa and Minnesota, south to Mexico and north up into the two Western most Canadian Provinces. No wonder it’s what comes to most people’s minds when talking about the Western landscape.
Sagebrush sustained the life of the early western pioneers as a source of fuel, construction material, medicine and dye.
The sagebrush plant has played a part in civilization for centuries. As long as there have been humans living in its habitat, sagebrush has provided the essentials needed for living. Fuel and construction material come from the wood of the plant. Rope and baskets can be made with its stringy bark. Boiling the leaves and flowers produces dye for weavers. The camphor in the leaves can be used to make medicine for coughs, headaches, stomach aches, fever and swelling of bruises. Shredded sagebrush bark can be woven into wicking for candles.
Its range is vast and varied, requiring the sagebrush plant to adapt to its local environment. The silvery gray leaves and little yellow flowers are standard for this cousin of the sunflower. Yet there are many different kinds of sagebrush. For example, there are 21 species and 16 varieties in Wyoming alone. Height of the plants average 2 to 4 feet tall with a range of 6 inches in the driest soil to 15 feet in the wettest areas. The sagebrush is well adapted to survive in the arid desert climate. A two-part root system includes an anchoring long tap root to reach underground water sources. The shallow web of roots branching out close under the surface retrieve any moisture that might wet the soil.
Although not in the sage family, sagebrush is aromatic. It has been described as smelling like a camphor blanket with a touch of Christmas. Folks who spend time in its midst have said that its fragrance is clean, sharp and as cool as winter. Its crushed leaves smell extremely pungent and the bitter taste of the sagebrush leaf protects it from overgrazing by the herbivores who live in its habitat. There is a toxic effect associated with eating the leaves that makes sagebrush an unacceptable forage for cattle. But animals like mule deer, elk and pronghorn have evolved digestive systems that can tolerate the toxin.
The sagebrush plant is a survivor and its extreme age has been listed as anywhere from 100 to 150 years. Part of its longevity might be attributed to the fact that the sagebrush plant can detect and react to danger. And that it has a unique communication system. If a plant is attacked by an insect infestation, it will immediately release a chemical defense that is also an airborne signal to other sagebrush plants in the area. This advance warning system tells the other members of the sagebrush “colony” to release their own repellent chemical to protect themselves from insect attack.
The state of Nevada’s landscape is dominated by sagebrush habitat and in 1917, Nevada adopted Sagebrush as its state plant.
Nowhere is sagebrush more prominent that in the state of Nevada. In fact, this plant that dominates the state’s landscape was adopted as the Nevada state plant in 1917. Twin sprays of flowering sagebrush twigs adorn the state flag and the state song declares sage to be the meaning of “home.”
Mark Twain described the sagebrush country as an “exquisite” miniature forest. But the only thing miniature about sagebrush territory is the small stature of the plants compared to full grown trees. The sagebrush ecosystem is the largest interconnected habitat in America. It provides clean air, fresh water and the resources for the inhabitants’ welfare. In fact, the sagebrush habitat is responsible for the survival of somewhere around 350 different species of plants and animals. Some of these can survive nowhere else on Earth. But like every other habitat, sagebrush is an ecosystem with a variety of wildlife who move freely in and out of the environment.
The roaming inhabitants at the top of the food chain include the badger, coyote, and the northern harrier of the raptor family. Their prey consists of the usual fare of lizards, snakes, birds, rabbits and, in the case of the coyote, pronghorn and mule deer. Some of the prey are common desert animals like rattle snakes, jack rabbits, harvester ants, and then there are the desert wildflowers and cacti that support the plant eaters. The sagebrush environment can sustain these species but they would survive in other habitats just as well.
Then there are those who could not exist without the specialized sagebrush habitat. Because of their dependence upon sagebrush, many of the species have been named after the plant. The sagebrush lizard, the sagebrush thrush, the sagebrush vole and the sage sparrow are some of the animals who live exclusively within the sagebrush environment.
The sagebrush grouse is perhaps that best known member of the permanent sagebrush inhabitants. From courtship, to nesting, to food source, to protective cover, the sage grouse is dependent on the sagebrush environment to live. This bird has gained notoriety for the flamboyant and elaborate courtship dance of the males. The courtship ritual is performed on an established dancing ground in the habitat within a group called a lek. These leks can contain up to as many as 70 birds in one group dancing at one time.
Sage grouse live only in the unique habitat of the sagebrush ecosystem.
After choosing a mate from the dancers, the female lays somewhere between 6 to 9 eggs in a shallow depression underneath the sagebrush plants, lining her nest with their leaves. Because of the open habitat, the fluffy chicks are able to run with their mother shortly after hatching. Food for the sage grouse consists of buds, leaves and insects, with hatchlings fending for themselves from the very beginning. In winter, the sage grouse depends almost solely on sagebrush leaves and buds for nourishment.
Another permanent inhabitant of the sagebrush environment is the pygmy rabbit who also relies almost totally on sagebrush to survive. Its diet consists of 99 percent sagebrush and its self-made burrows are dug in under the roots of the sagebrush plant. This tiny rabbit is the smallest member of the rabbit family weighing around only one pound. To protect itself from the predation of coyotes, badgers and harriers who share its territory, pygmy rabbits more often live in areas of taller sagebrush to provide the best cover. Their well-used runways through the brush enable safer travel and offer escape routes when needed.
Females give birth to an average of six babies and have three litters a year in the spring and early summer months. Young are born in a chamber of a series of burrows that has multiple exits for escape. Interestingly, those rabbits born in the first litter of the season will grow bigger because of the extra time in the season to develop during the summer months. Pygmy rabbits who live in snow country build extensive tunnels much the same size and shape as their burrows. This allows them to feed and move within the sagebrush plants without putting themselves in danger of being seen by predators on the top of the snow.
Deer, elk and pronghorns depend on sagebrush for winter forage.
Mule deer, who summer in the high country, leave the deep snows of the mountains to winter in sagebrush territory where the plentiful plant provides adequate winter feed. Pronghorns are regular inhabitants of the sagebrush environment, especially in winter where sagebrush is their major food source. One advantage of wintering in the sagebrush region is that the dark brown branches of the plants draw heat from the sun. This melts the snow and creates easier access to forage. The leaves and branches of the sagebrush also create pockets of air to form in the snow from which grazers can reach ground cover with less expenditure of energy.
Elk are another species that depends upon the sagebrush forage as a winter staple. But elk reside in the region at other times throughout the year as well. Females use it as a calving ground and when grasses dry out in late summer, elk can find much needed protein in the buds of the sagebrush plants.
Sagebrush does have its enemies. It can be damaged and destroyed by wildfires and by diseases that attack plant leaves. Because the sagebrush ecosystem has such an important part in the American West landscape, restoration projects to grow and transplant sagebrush have been developed to replenish this important plant species. But introducing new plants into a sagebrush habitat can be tricky. With the large number of species and subspecies, it is important to match for compatibility of plants. It has been found that sagebrush adaptability is localized and that even plants of the same subspecies will not survive in an area outside of that adaptability zone. Studies have also shown that subspecies of sagebrush can be nearly impossible to identify. This makes restoration a difficult task, but one well worth continued effort.
