From Flickr, copyright Dan Dzurisin (NDomer73)The greater Sage Grouse is an iconic prairie bird. Forty years ago, when we first began keeping records, hundreds were strutting their stuff on our Canadian prairies; this past year only 13 males were counted in Alberta, and 35 in Saskatchewan. Scientists say the species’ days in Alberta could be numbered – they could be gone as early as next year.

The cause of their rapid decline is simple: loss of sagebrush habitat – the only habitat in which they can live – due to oil and gas exploration. The birds will not go within 1.9 kilometers of a disturbed area, so the fractured landscape created by oil and gas exploration basically shuts them out of their natural habitat.

Sage grouse males are known for their complex courtship dance, where they puff up the colourful air sacs in their chest with up to 5 liters of air, and make otherworldly sounds to attract a female. What was once a common sight on the prairies now attracts people by the hundreds to see the last remaining few.

They were first recognized as a species that ‘may be at risk’ in 1996, and were listed as endangered under Alberta's Wildlife Act in 2000. Since 1996 the population has crashed by more than 90 percent. Read about the politics of saving the sage grouse here and here.

So, what’s the value of a species? Do we let the greater sage grouse fade to black? Only public pressure for swift action in defense of this species will help now.

Contact the Alberta Wilderness Association for more details.

What do Margot Kidder, Darrell Hannah and Naomi Klein have in common? Unless you’ve been avoiding the news lately, you’ll know that they were arrested at the White House protesting Calgary-based TransCanada Corp.’s proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. The 1,700-mile pipeline would cut through six U.S. states to deliver crude oil to the refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. President Obama has until November 1^st to make a decision on the project.

This is a huge project that has people predictably polarized. A total of 1,252 people were arrested over two weeks in the largest environmental civil disobedience effort in decades. More protests are planned for Ottawa beginning September 26^th.

Proponents say the negative impacts will be minimized and that the project will create much needed jobs, while providing a reliable and friendly source of oil for the U.S. The protestors say that the project will endanger water supplies of millions of people and that the oilsands are “the dirtiest fuel on the planet” for their carbon emissions and the pollution they generate.

In a way, even Oprah has weighed in. The Oprah Winfrey Network recently started airing pro-oil sands “Ethical Oil” ads for which she came under fire.

How do you separate fact from fiction? Who do you trust? Read up! Get informed at the library.

Don’t let the small size and the cute cover of this book deceive you. The Grizzly Manifesto: In Defence of the Great Bear calls for nothing short of a revolution in how we manage wildlife and ourselves through law and government in order to save the grizzly bear and other species at risk from extinction.

Calgary author Jeff Gailus worked as a journalist at The Canmore Leader, often covering wildlife issues, before joining the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative and cofounding the Bow Valley Grizzly Bear Alliance in the early part of this decade.

Due to his experience in the Bow Valley and the connections he’s made, his new book paints an intimate and focused look at the problems that threaten the recovery of this iconic species in Canada.

His assertion that the U.S. is way ahead of Canada in terms of grizzly protection and environmental laws will surprise many. Canada’s and Alberta’s desperately poor track records of protecting our threatened species from the effects of industrial development will enrage many more.

The author’s personal experience with bears, in addition to stories about the fates of bears in and around Banff National Park give the book its heart and remind you of what’s at stake.