Chair Chris Jasmine
The title Sage Grouse Pod has been retained though the scope of the Pod'ss work has expanded into ecosystem considerations. From the spring of 1999 to the spring of 2003 the diverse members of the Pod greatly expanded their knowledge of how ecosystems function and gained appreciation for the ways in which habitat restoration will benefit numerous other life forms. Rather early, NNSG shifted from a single-species planning mode to a full-fledged ecosystem/watershed management plan. The need to consider complex natural resource issues led NNSG to the realization that the concerns of an entire ecosystem must be addressed in order to satisfactorily benefit the target species.
The Sage Grouse Pod is lead by SRK Consulting senior ecologist Gary Back, and assisted by expertise from BLM, H-T National F.S. biologists, NRCS specialists, Nevada Department of Wildlife biologists and habitat specialists, numerous ranching operators, mining professionals, and interested Elko-area citizens. Through a collaborative process the group identified and studied issues associated with declining sage grouse populations in the Elko region. They have produced the Elko County Sagebrush Ecosystem Conservation Strategy, which was presented to the Governor's Sage Grouse Team in May 2004.