Conservation in Southern Idaho Receive Federal and NGO Awards
The following article is contributed by Connor White, a partner biologist with the NRCS-led Sage Grouse Initiative and Pheasants Forever. Due to his cross-boundary work on both private and public lands, his position is supported in part by Partnering to Conserve Sagebrush Rangelands.
Conservation partners in the Burley, Idaho area were thrilled to learn last month we received two exciting recognitions that came with much-appreciated project funds. The first was the USDA’s Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership Award and the second came from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Here’s a bit about these awesome acknowledgments and funding awards:
Joint Chiefs Award
The Joint Chiefs Award was announced by U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Vicki Christiansen and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Matt Lohr and recognizes the Goose Creek Interagency Sage-Grouse Habitat Restoration Project. This project is located on approximately 23,326 acres of national forest and 1,523 acres of private lands in southern Idaho. The conservation treatments this helps fund include hand thinning and mastication of juniper to restore sage grouse, elk, and mule deer habitat. Other project objectives include reducing the risk of uncharacteristically large, high severity wildfires, and improving the Goose Creek and Trapper Creek watersheds as well as overall rangeland vegetative conditions, including treatment of invasive plants.
“The Forest Service started this project to address seasonal habitat needs for sage grouse,” said Stacy Smith, Fuels Planner for the Forest Service’s Minidoka Ranger District. “It is well documented in scientific literature how quickly sage grouse respond to conifer treatments, but we are getting many other landscape benefits, while being proactive in our approach.”
The project area is southwest of Burley in the aptly named South Hills. The South Hills see thousands of visitors each year, from recreationists in the summer months to hunters in the fall to the general public out for a scenic drive. All come to enjoy this special landscape and wander through the high-quality habitat within it. However, habitat is not static, and science-based, proactive management is key to keeping high-quality habitat intact for years to come.
“Without the incredible partnerships we have across this part of Idaho we couldn’t achieve this scale of conservation success,” said Jason Pyron with the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). “The USFWS has supported efforts in the Burley area since the beginning, but we rely heavily on partners like the NRCS, USFS, and Pheasants Forever to implement crucial habitat conservation across land ownership boundaries.”
So often across the West, we find ourselves reacting to events, mainly wildfires. Restoration can be effective in a reactive approach but is usually limited by resources, time, and other factors. When a proactive approach is taken, treatments can be meticulously designed, funding can be secured in advance, and a coalition of partners can be formed.
The partners specifically identified in this Joint Chiefs Award included the Forest Service, Idaho Department of Lands, Bureau of Land Management, Pheasants Forever, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Governor’s Office of Species Conservation, Oakley Valley and Goose Creek grazing permittees, and landowners within the project area.
This elk will benefit from the nearby habitat enhancement work in southern Idaho’s South Hills. Photo by Connor White.
Elk Foundation Invests in Sagebrush Steppe
The second recognition came as a grant from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) Idaho Project Advisory Committee. Why would elk hunters care about sagebrush? Elk and sagebrush-dependent species, like sage grouse, share 40 million acres of key habitat across the west. Sagebrush serves as critical winter range and calving grounds for elk. This award from RMEF specifically funds several hundred acres of juniper cutting within the project area. Since elk are mostly grazing ungulates, removing junipers in a targeted fashion creates areas of additional grass that elk utilize, and treatments retain old-growth trees for hiding cover. Big bull elk don’t happen by chance, it takes a combination of limited hunting pressure and quality habitat. Our project work will ensure big bulls roam the South Hills for years to come.
Non-federal conservation funds from groups like RMEF are incredibly important to the project work we do. Funding agreements with federal entities like the Forest Service or the BLM often require non-federal funding match as a requirement. Oftentimes, it’s 10-20% of the total award, which adds up quickly in large agreements. These nonfederal dollars help us secure landscape-scale grants that lead to better results on the ground.
Another partner who has provided critical non-federal match for the project has been the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG). IDFG will be assisting the partners by supplying native seed to be planted on some of the areas to be treated.
“From the Fish and Game’s perspective, this is an excellent opportunity to leverage our limited state dollars and ensure they are going to a proven solution for improving habitat in southern Idaho for multiple species of wildlife,” said Sal Palazzolo, Private Lands Coordinator for IDFG.
Sage grouse can quickly reinhabit areas once invading trees are removed. Can you spot these grouse flushing out of this project area? Photo by Connor White.
In south-central Idaho, there are many ongoing projects restoring and conserving the sagebrush sea. Our efforts in the area are now nearly a decade old! We are thankful for the dynamic and hard-won partnerships between federal, state, non-governmental, and private landowners we have been working with to enact collaborative conservation. Recognitions and continued awards like these mean we will continue to work in this landscape for years to come, which is good news because many of us have our professional and personal lives invested in these landscapes.
Pyron sums it up like this, “when we look at everything we have done since 2010 in southern Idaho, it is a great win, but I believe even more will be accomplished in the next decade.”
We whole-heartedly agree.
To learn more about Connor and his work, click here.