Grouse is a show about the most controversial bird in the West and what it can teach us about hope, compromise and life in rural America. Hosted by Ashley Ahearn, Grouse is an eight-part podcast series produced in partnership with BirdNote Presents and distributed in collaboration with Boise State Public Radio.
My new podcast you might like
Hey Grouse listeners, Ashley here with a podcast recommendation for you – it's my newest series, Mustang, and it explores the complicated world of wild horses. Here's a sneak preview.
10/10/2023 • 3 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 8: If Not Hope, Then Courage
In the final episode of Grouse, Ashley returns to a lek in Washington with biologist Michael Schroeder and finds it scorched by recent wildfire. Michael cries as he looks out over an area that was once home to one of the largest remaining pockets of sage-grouse in the state. But he says he’s not ready to retire yet — there’s more work to be done.
10/27/2020 • 26 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 7: The Death Of Compromise?
In 2015 the Obama Administration hammered out a deal with leaders and land managers across the west that avoided listing the sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act.
10/20/2020 • 22 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode 6: “Oil and Gas”
Western Wyoming is home to many sage-grouse mating and nesting sites. And, in recent years, it’s also become a hub of oil and gas extraction.
10/13/2020 • 19 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode 5: The Story Of The Grieving Lady And The Sage Hen
The sage-grouse plays a big role in the cultural history of several western American Indian Nations. Wilson Wewa, an elder of the Northern Paiute of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon, still remembers the first time he saw a sage-grouse lek while gathering medicine with his grandfather.
10/6/2020 • 21 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode 4: "All I Want To Do Is Protect This Dirt"
There are a lot of people who say cows are one of the biggest problems in the West — and are making life a whole heck of a lot harder for sage grouse. But cows are also a symbol of a way of life that many in sagebrush country feel is under attack.
9/29/2020 • 22 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode 3: Streamers
As the climate warms and invasive cheatgrass moves in, thousands of acres of sagebrush are burning across the West each year. And sage grouse are feeling the heat too, as the ecosystem shift destroys their habitat.
9/22/2020 • 18 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 2: In Search Of The Bird, Through Time
Join Ashley on a frigid trek through the snow in search of sage grouse with a scientist who has been studying the bird for decades. Michael Schroeder takes us on a journey through the frozen sagebrush and back in time to learn some scientific and cultural lore surrounding this bird. Will we find any birds today? Why are they in so much trouble? Should anyone care?
9/15/2020 • 18 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 1: Stranger In A Strange Land
A few years ago, Ashley Ahearn burned out on the urban rat race, quit her job at a top NPR member station in Seattle, and moved to 20 acres of big sky and sagebrush in rural Washington state to try to better understand this country, and do better journalism in the process. And, along the way, she got curious about a weird, troubled bird known as the Greater Sage-Grouse, that is native to the sagebrush ecosystem — and fits in a whole lot better there than she does. What the heck is a sage grouse and why does everyone get so worked up about this bird?
