Sage-grouse (Centrocercus spp.) populations have declined dramatically throughout the western United States since the 1960s. Increased gas and oil development during this time has potentially contributed to the declines. I investigated impacts of development of natural gas fields on greater sage- grouse (C. urophasianus) breeding behavior, seasonal habitat selection, and population growth in the upper Green River Basin of western Wyoming. Greater sage-grouse in western Wyoming appeared to be excluded from attending leks situated within or near the development boundaries of natural gas fields. Declines in the number of displaying males were positively correlated with decreased distance from leks to gas-field-related sources of disturbance, increased levels of development surrounding leks, increased traffic volumes within 3 km of leks, and increased potential for greater noise intensity at leks. Displacement of adult males and low recruitment of juvenile males contributed to declines in the number of breeding males on impacted leks. Additionally, responses of predatory species to development of gas fields could be responsible for decreased male survival on leks situated near the edges of developing fields and could extend the range-of-influence of gas fields. Generally, nesting females avoided areas with high densities of producing wells, and brooding females avoided producing wells. However, the relationship between selected nesting sites and proximity to gas field infrastructure shifted between 2000 – 2003 and 2004, with females selecting nesting habitat farther from active drilling rigs and producing wells in 2004. This suggests that the long-term response of nesting populations is avoidance of natural gas development. Most of the variability in population growth between populations that were impacted and non-impacted by natural gas development was explained by lower annual survival buffered to some extent by higher productivity in impacted populations. Seasonal survival differences between impacted and non-impacted individuals indicates that a lag period occurs between when an individual is impacted by an anthropogenic disturbance and when survival probabilities are influenced, suggesting negative fitness consequences for females subjected to natural gas development during the breeding or nesting periods. I suggest that currently imposed development stipulations are inadequate to protect greater sage-grouse, and that stipulations need to be modified to maintain populations within natural gas fields.
