Prairie is without doubt America's most vulnerable ecosystem. Almost none of it is protected as are our mountains, forests, and rivers.
Our Fish and Wildlife Service is considering listing a widlely occuring large bird of America's sage brush covered praries. Listing might cause considerable changes in the way we develop energy and build roads, solar farms, and other infrastructure projects. Some might wonder why bother.
Decimated by the West Nile virus sage grouse eggs are also preyed on by just about everything from ravens to mice and coyotes and fox and rodents.
I've often heard prarie described as "fly over country" or heard the complaints of those unlucky enough to drive across it. One can see most of the prairie at a glance out the window of a car at 80mph, yet to truly be seen it's often necessary to stop and look for a long time. About the only humans I see are cowboys, or sheepherders tending to the very scarce livestock. Cowboys out on the range are always friendly to a fault, that's what happens when the only living things one has to talk to are dogs and cows. Cowboys are also good sources of information on drivable roads, signs of wildlife, available water. Remember to leave gates the way you found them and to respect private land. (get a good map showing private versus BLM) FWS Greater Sage Grouse