Sagebrush Assessment Project

Your current location: Home > Projects > Sagebrush Assessment

The Sagebrush Assessment Project conducted research on habitats for species of conservation concern in the sagebrush ecosystem. The Project’s focus was on landscape research in sagebrush-dominated ecoregions in the western United States (see map, below). Work included:

1. Identifying regional assessment procedures that can be used efficiently and credibly to evaluate multiple species of conservation concern in sagebrush ecoregions;
2. Developing methods by which trade-offs between managing for single versus multiple species can be addressed systematically and defensibly at regional scales for land use planning;
3. Completing a prototype regional assessment in the Great Basin Ecoregion of Nevada, Utah, and California, including follow-on validation research;
4. Conducting research in support of, and subsequently completing, a regional assessment of the Wyoming Basins Ecoregion and adjacent areas of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado; and
5. Providing guidance regarding use of the procedures and results for effective multi-species planning at regional scales for ecosystem management.

Participants:

U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Snake River Field Station, Boise, ID¹
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, La Grande, OR²
USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Reno, NV³ , and Boise, ID⁴
Oregon State University, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Station, Burns, OR⁵

• Steven T. Knick, Research Ecologist¹
• Michael J. Wisdom, Research Wildlife Biologist²
• Mary M. Rowland, Wildlife Biologist²
• Lowell H. Suring, Wildlife Biologist⁴
• Linda Schueck, Computer Analyst¹
• Cara Meinke, Wildlife Biologist¹
• Richard F. Miller, Plant Community Ecologist⁵
• Robin J. Tausch, Supervisory Range Scientist³
• Matthias Leu, Research Ecologist¹
• Barbara C. Wales, Wildlife Biologist²

Products:

Documents:

• Procedures for Regional Assessment of Habitats for Species of Conservation Concern in the Sagebrush Ecosystem
• A Prototype Regional Assessment of Habitats for Species of Conservation Concern in the Great Basin Ecorerion and Nevada
  • Cover Page and Contents
  • Chapter 1:  Introduction
  • Chapter 2:  Assessment Area
  • Chapter 3:  Vegetation
  • Chapter 4:  Risk to Vegetation
  • Chapter 5:  Species of Conservation Concern
  • Chapter 6:  Habitats for Species
  • Chapter 7:  Habitats for Groups of Species
  • Chapter 8:  Greater Sage grouse as an Umbrella Species
  • Chapter 9:  Asssumptions and Limitations for Appropriate Use
  • Chapter 10:  Conclusions and management Implicatiions
  • Appendix 1:  Glossary
  • Appendix 2:  Plant and Animal Species Mentioned in Text Excluding Species of Conservation Concern
  • Appendix 3: Species of Conservation Concern in the Great Basin 
  • Appendix 4: Habitats and Associated Risks for Species of Concern in the Great Basin and Nevada 
  • Download entire document as an archived (zipped) directory (7.5 MB) 
• Summary results for BLM Field Offices in Nevada from a Regional Assessment of Habitats for Species of Conservation Concern. 

Data used in or produced by the Sagebrush Assessment Project

Data	Metadata	Download
Current Distribution of Sagebrush and Associated Vegetation in the Western United States (excluding NM and AZ)
TNC Ecoregions
Risk of Cheatgrass Invasion into Shrubland Ecosystems
Risk of Pinyon-juniper Invasion into Shrublands

This project was supported by SAGEMAP. Products from this Project are also available in the Great Basin Bibliography and data layers that were used in the analyses are available from the SAGEMAP Data queries.