Land Management

Federal public land managers in the US are required by law to use science to inform management decisions. However, managers have limited time to identify science for use in decision making. Literature reviews are one tool to efficiently summarize science for use by managers, but are time-consuming to produce. Keyword in Context (KWIC) text analysis is a straightforward method of locating specific...

Wild horses and burros are iconic wildlife of the western USA as well as a complicated management issue on tribal, state, and federal lands. Due to their history as domesticated animals, these wild equids – also called “free-roaming” or “feral” equids – can reproduce quickly, and have few natural predators, allowing their populations to grow rapidly if not managed. When populations are too large...

Long-term wildlife monitoring is imperative for understanding population changes that can inform managers. However, working with population data collected by different organizations across multiple jurisdictions and over long time periods can be challenging due to varying data management approaches and organizational priorities. Through this project, we aimed to collaborate with eleven state...

Greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus) are at the center of state and national land use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits and their role as an ecological indicator for the health of sagebrush ecosystems. Multiple science centers with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in conjunction with Colorado State University (CSU) have developed the Greater Sage-Grouse...

Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Colorado State University (CSU) collaborated with the Bureau of Land Management and state wildlife agencies to develop a hierarchical population monitoring framework for managing greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus) populations and the sagebrush ecosystems they depend on for survival and reproduction. This greater sage-grouse...

Land and wildlife managers require accurate estimates of sensitive species’ trends to help guide conservation decisions that maintain biodiversity and promote healthy ecosystems. Multiple science centers with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in conjunction with Colorado State University (CSU), developed a hierarchical population monitoring framework for managing greater sage-grouse (...

Land and wildlife managers require accurate estimates of sensitive species’ trends to help guide conservation decisions that maintain biodiversity and promote healthy ecosystems. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in conjunction with Colorado State University (CSU), developed a hierarchical population monitoring framework for managing greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse)...

The SAGE Wildlife Research Group consists of a large team of research scientists with an interest in conservation and management of wildlife and their ecosystems. Broadly, research involves understanding animal-habitat relationships, with an emphasis on conservation ecology and population demography, and a focus on shrubland, alpine, and grassland ecosystems. We are addressing the effects of...

Science information is fundamental to understanding how proposed actions on public lands may impact the environment. However, agencies often have limited time to compile and synthesize existing science. We are working with land management agencies to develop and explore the usability of a new type of science product— structured science syntheses—for facilitating the use of science information in...

The scientific literature is abundant on drought-related topics in the western United States, including areas of the Colorado River Basin and the sagebrush biome. Scientists, resource managers, and decision makers use this science to assess, predict, and respond to the effects of drought on people and the environment. However, it can be difficult to quickly synthesize large amounts of research. To...

The sagebrush biome is one of the largest ecosystems in North America. Encompassing nearly one-third of the continental U.S., it provides critical resources for millions of Americans and a home for hundreds of plants and animal species in the West. Natural resource management in sagebrush ecosystems can be complex, and science can support management decisions by providing knowledge and tools to...

Landscape assessments have been proposed as a mechanism for informing conservation and natural resource management actions at broad scales. We are documenting the process used in a large effort to conduct 14 such assessments across the western United States, and evaluating how the assessments were used in subsequent land use plans. In this project, we seek to identify methods and characteristics...