The Green River Basin of southwestern Wyoming is dominated by sagebrush-steppe habitat, which has declined in western North America by nearly 50 percent since Anglo-European settlement. Because the majority of sagebrush steppe in Wyoming occurs on public lands, Wyoming plays an important role in the conservation of sagebrush-obligate species, in particular white-tailed prairie dogs (currently under reconsideration for listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act), sage sparrows, pygmy rabbits (considered critically imperiled in Wyoming; currently under reconsideration for federal ESA listing), greater sage-grouse (currently under reconsideration for federal ESA listing), ungulates, and several amphibian and reptile species. Recent and ongoing land-use changes in this part of Wyoming are transforming the landscape composition, resulting in habitat loss and fragmentation. Furthermore, each year, habitat enhancements and vegetation treatments are applied across southwestern Wyoming, but assessment of cumulative effects or the effectiveness of on-the-ground treatments has been insufficient. The overall objectives of this task, as part of the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI), are to monitor southwestern Wyoming ecosystem conditions over time, evaluate the effectiveness of on-the-ground habitat treatments to enhance or maintain wildlife populations, and improve our overall understanding of the mechanisms behind population dynamics of key wildlife groups or species of conservation concern. Specifically this involves (1) initiating monitoring for landscape-level, long-term trends using key response variables; (2) conducting effectiveness monitoring for 2007-2008 habitat treatments and mitigation using key response variables; and (3) designing and implementing studies to address mechanisms and processes by which key species and populations are affected by energy development activities. When long-term monitoring is coupled with management, it also has the potential to be used for early warning, whereby management interventions are triggered before reaching critical and potentially costly levels of action.

For more information contact Natasha Kotliar