The Gunnison sage-grouse, integral to the story "Ledgers" in Claire Boyles' Site Fidelity, are dependent on their natural habitat, the sagebrush steppe of the Western United States. A steppe is a grassland region that does not receive enough rain to support trees. The semi-arid climate means that only shrubs and short grasses can grow. The temperature varies dramatically between summer and winter, as well as between day and night, much like in deserts. The world's largest swathe of grassland is the Eurasian steppe, which stretches from Hungary to China, but smaller areas of steppe can be found around the world. Globally, many steppes have been lost to agriculture and pasture, which can lead to erosion and degradation of the soil.

Sagebrush steppe, steppe on which sagebrush is prevalent along with other grass types, occurs mostly in the Intermountain West of the United States — between the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the east. ...