2008 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) To gain a better understanding of landscape and management impacts on sage-grouse habitat, and to evaluate sage-grouse food availability, specifically rangeland insects. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) Oregon State University (OSU) and USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists will cooperate on a project to map rangeland plant communities in a large Great Basin pasture (100,000 + acres). The communities will be rated for suitability as sage-grouse habitat. Livestock grazing behavior will be evaluated to determine the degree of overlap between livestock use and sage-grouse habitat. In the second part of the project, ARS and OSU scientists will quantify the relationships between vegetation structure and rangeland insects (which are a critical food source for sage-grouse chicks). Documents SCA with OSU. 3.Progress Report During the past year efforts continued to identify rangeland insects and their relationship to vegetion structure. The focus was on insects known to be important food sources for sage-grouse. Specifically, plant community structure and composition were measured during June and July. Pitfall traps were used to measure the abundance of ground crawling insects, especially those of importance for sage-grouse chicks during early brood rearing. Insects of interest include caterpillars, grasshoppers, ants, and two families of beetles. Pitfall traps were collected between april and July to determine insect availability. Ultra-violet blacklight traps were used once per month between May and September to capture adult Lepidoptera (moths). Capturing moths allows a better understanding of the Lepidoptera species present in the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe community, and therefore indicate species of caterpillars that may be available for chicks to eat. ADODR monitored progress through meetings and telephone calls.