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New documentary explores Sage Grouse decline in West

By Samantha Wright
Published March 16, 2026 at 1:54 PM MDT
1 of 7  — SageGrouse2.JPG
Kris Millgate Tight Line Media
Male sage grouse strut in the spring by inflating chest airbags and fanning pointed tail feathers. Their unique display is meant to attract female sage grouse who select a mate, build nests and incubate up to 10 eggs for about a month.
2 of 7  — SageGrouse3.JPG
Male sage grouse strut in the spring by inflating chest airbags and fanning pointed tail feathers. Their unique display is meant to attract female sage grouse who select a mate, build nests and incubate up to 10 eggs for about a month.
Photo and caption by Kris Millgate / Tight Line Media
The best way to witness the mating ritual of sage grouse in the spring is to sit silently in a blind in the high desert. That’s what outdoor journalist Kris Millgate did for several mornings during production of Sage Wisdom West. Birds strut in clearings at sunrise and sunset March through April.
3 of 7  — SageBlind.jpeg
The best way to witness the mating ritual of sage grouse in the spring is to sit silently in a blind in the high desert. That’s what outdoor journalist Kris Millgate did for several mornings during production of Sage Wisdom West. Birds strut in clearings at sunrise and sunset March through April.
Photo and caption by Kris Millgate / Tight Line Media
Filmmaker Kris Millgate spent weeks at a time in the high desert dirt during field production of Sage Wisdom West. She often worked on her belly, capturing the look of the sagebrush steppe from underneath its canopy as sage grouse see it.
4 of 7  — KMrain.jpg
Filmmaker Kris Millgate spent weeks at a time in the high desert dirt during field production of Sage Wisdom West. She often worked on her belly, capturing the look of the sagebrush steppe from underneath its canopy as sage grouse see it.
Photo and caption by Kris Millgate / Tight Line Media
5 of 7  — SageGrouse4.JPG
Will B. / Tight Line Media
Production of Sage Wisdom West started on a -12 degree morning with crusty snow on the ground and a fully insulated woman learning to follow the erratic flight patterns of wild birds in high desert.
6 of 7  — KMsnow.jpeg
Production of Sage Wisdom West started on a -12 degree morning with crusty snow on the ground and a fully insulated woman learning to follow the erratic flight patterns of wild birds in high desert.
Will B. / Tight Line Media
Sage grouse are a wild, seven-pound, upland bird living in the West’s high desert. Their feathers are a variegated pattern that blends in perfectly with the sagebrush they live among.
7 of 7  — SageFeathers (1).jpg
Sage grouse are a wild, seven-pound, upland bird living in the West’s high desert. Their feathers are a variegated pattern that blends in perfectly with the sagebrush they live among.
Photo and caption by Kris Millgate / Tight Line Media

Sage grouse have been disappearing across the West for decades, and a new documentary goes in search of the iconic bird.

Kris Millgate chased the grouse through Idaho and four other states in 2024 and found a lot more than she bargained for, including cows, crickets and trash while talking to ranchers and tribal members, activists and scientists.

Millgate's film “Sage Wisdom West" premieres at the Colonial Theater on Thursday, April 2. Millgate, an outdoor journalist, joined Idaho Matters to talk more.

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Samantha Wright
As Senior Producer of our live daily talk show Idaho Matters, I’m able to indulge my love of storytelling and share all kinds of information (I was probably a Town Crier in a past life). My career has allowed me to learn something new everyday and to share that knowledge with all my friends on the radio.
See stories by Samantha Wright

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