Land Management

Arid shrublands of western North America face growing threats from disturbances such as wildfire, drought, and invasive species. These threats are increasingly altering the sagebrush ( Artemisia species) biome and degrading habitat for species of conservation concern such as greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ). Effective management and restoration are needed to slow or reverse these...

The Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System seeks to conserve, protect, and restore nationally significant landscapes. Science is a critical piece of this effort. The US Geological Survey is working with the Bureau of Land Management to develop Science Plans to help prioritize and support science efforts to better understand and manage resources in these landscapes.

The use of rare plant habitat models in land management decisions can be constrained by issues surrounding data access, model quality, and institutional capacity, among other factors. This project seeks to understand challenges associated with using habitat models and explore avenues for addressing these challenges to facilitate greater use of habitat models in public lands decision making.

Sage-grouse, iconic birds of the American West, have experienced dramatic reductions and fragmentation of habitat, resulting in significant conservation concern. Genetic information can help inform priorities for protection and habitat restoration as well as strategies for translocations, but may be difficult for resource managers to find, interpret, and use in their decision making. In this work...

Scientific information is fundamental to understanding how proposed actions on public lands may impact the environment. Development of new science is occurring at rates that can make it challenging for biologists, resource managers, decision makers, private landowners, and other stakeholders to ensure they are using up-to-date, high-quality science information to inform their decisions. Further...

Tree-ring science is a component of our interdisciplinary ecological research program that focuses on the effects of climate variability and human land use on forest ecology, fire ecology, and ecohydrology.

The New Mexico Landscapes Field Station is a place-based, globally connected, ecological research group that studies ecosystem and wildlife dynamics, working with land managers, community leaders, and Tribes to deliver solutions that foster the linked health of human and natural systems. For over three decades, we have focused on shifting research needs from forest watershed health to wildlife...

Below are ongoing or completed research projects related to wildlife at the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station.

Below are ongoing or completed research projects related to forest ecosystems at the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station.

Below are ongoing or completed research projects related to fire at the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station.

Staff, affiliates, and collaborators associated with the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station.

Greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ) management relies on the identification and protection of core habitat for the species. Core areas are often centered on leks where the potential impacts of anthropogenic development and other disturbances can be evaluated based on buffer distances around active leks. While buffer distances have been quantified for some regions, sage-grouse space...