Bi-State Sage-Grouse Accomplishment Report
The 2012-2018 Bi-State Sage-Grouse Accomplishment Report has just been published! This report highlights conservation strategies, objectives and actions implemented since the Bi-State Sage-Grouse Conservation Action Plan was written in 2012. This report communicates:
1) The percent of the Action Plan that has been implemented;
2) How those actions have impacted sage-grouse populations and their habitats; and,
3) How to prioritize remaining conservation efforts moving forward.
The Bi-State Local Area Working Group (LAWG) has been collaborating to benefit sage-grouse in the Bi-State area for nearly two decades. The amount of on the ground work they have completed is truly impressive!
Accomplishments
Much has been accomplished since the implementation of the Action Plan in 2012. Bi-State partnerships remain strong and active and the Action Plan, while flexible, remains the guiding framework for Bi-State LAWG efforts. Through this framework, agencies and project partners have carried out population and vegetation monitoring plans and initiated conservation projects on more than 100,000 acres of land in the Bi- State (Figure 1).
Population monitoring provides information on habitat selection and utilization and helps biologists understand factors influencing sage-grouse population trends. Vegetation Monitoring plots completed by the Nevada Partners for Conservation and Development aim to evaluate the effectiveness of Bi-State 3 restoration and conifer treatment projects. Conservation projects implemented across the Bi-State are designed to address and alleviate threats including wildfire, urbanization, conifer encroachment, infrastructure and loss of sagebrush and meadows, among others (Table 4).
The implementation of these monitoring and conservation efforts have expanded our knowledge of population demographics, measured ecosystem health, increased habitat availability and suitability and provided ecological benefits to Bi-State sage- grouse populations and their habitats.
