What's good for the herd (or flock) is good for the bird (38110186482)

There is a saying used in sage grouse circles to describe that what is good for the herd (or flock), ie. good livestock and range management principles, is also good for greater-sage grouse and sage grouse habitat.
Twice a year, sheep trail past Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, as they have for generations. Sheepherders on horseback, their sheep wagon, and their dogs move with the sheep to keep them gathered up and a watchful eye on them. They move every few days so the sheep do not graze an area too heavily. In the fall they are headed to where they will spend the winter, and in spring they are trailing to the Wyoming Range and the Wind River Mountains for the summer. Trailing sheep requires a large, intact, and relatively undeveloped landscape, which Southwest Wyoming still has.

Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWS