Photo courtesy of Cory DeStein.
Protect Healthy Rangelands
An unprecedented conservation effort has been underway across 11 states in the western United States to address threats to sagebrush ecosystems and the species that depend on them. Sagebrush ecosystems provide a large diversity of habitats and support more than 350 species. These ecosystems have been significantly altered since Euro-American settlement in the mid-1800s. The primary threats to sagebrush ecosystems are well recognized and include large-scale wildfire, invasion of exotic annual grasses, conifer expansion, and multiple other threats. The continued loss and fragmentation of sagebrush habitats has placed many species at risk, including Greater Sage-grouse, which has been considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act several times.
A framework was developed to provide a transparent, ecologically defensible approach for making policy and management decisions to reduce threats to sagebrush ecosystems and sage grouse across multiple scales (see Science Framework, Part II for Management Applications). This is a game plan for partners to follow.
A diverse and growing “coalition of the willing” (states, federal, non-governmental organizations, private) are raising the alarm and calling for collective resources and strategies. Targeted, proactive management must occur in parallel with reacting to fire before the increasing challenge of more invasive grasses fuels more fires in the West. This parallel path of proactive and reactive approaches in lock-step is the new management reality for western rangelands.
Photo courtesy of the BLM.
Here are a few networks and examples of protecting healthy rangelands:
Access the latest research and hands-on management at the Great Basin Fire Science Exchange and the Northern Rockies Fire Science Network.These networks connect land managers and scientists to improve pre- and post-fire management decisions by providing relevant information and access to technical expertise.
Learn more about USDA NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife and Sage Grouse Initiative, the paradigm-shifting collaborative approach to conserving habitat while keeping working lands working. SGI targets conservation efforts where the returns are the highest by targeting threats to sage-grouse, i.e., invading conifers, conversion to cropland or subdivision, and catastrophic wildfires.
Read and implement the Western Weed Action Plan, which addresses the looming threats of invasives and wildfire, and identifies opportunities to overcome landscape-scale threats through messaging, collaboration, prioritization, data sharing, and increasing capacity for effective management.
Prevent wildfire by learning more at BLM’s One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire. This campaign helps to prevent human-caused fires.
Connect and learn more about WAFWA’s Sagebrush Conservation Strategy, a roadmap of voluntary conservation measures for managing and conserving the sagebrush ecosystem that builds on conservation measures already in place for sage-grouse.
Get involved with Partnering to Conserve Sagebrush Rangelands and SageWest, and hear the stories of partners around the West protecting healthy sagebrush rangelands from invasive annual grasses and fire.