Greater Sage-Grouse Science (2015–17): Synthesis and Potential Management Implications Completed

The USGS led an interagency team of Federal and State agency biologists to develop a report that synthesizes the scientific literature published since records of decision were completed for the 2015 Bureau of Land Management and USDA Forest Service land use plan amendments for greater sage-grouse and provides potential management implications of the science.

The interagency team identified six primary topic areas for the report:

1. Multiscale habitat suitability and mapping tools,
2. discrete anthropogenic activities,
3. diffuse activities,
4. fire and invasive species,
5. restoration effectiveness, and
6. population estimation and genetics.

The team then reviewed all material in the “Annotated Bibliography of Scientific Research on Sage-Grouse Published Since January 2015” (Carter and others, 2018) to identify the science that addressed each topic, discussed the science related to each topic, evaluated the consistency of the science with existing knowledge prior to 2015, and summarized the potential management implications of this science.