Land Management

For over 30 years we have monitored the ecosystem dynamics of the mesas and mountains of northern New Mexico, co-located with mangers. We use a place-based science approach, defined as “science that is founded on long-term, repeated, field data and observations, as well as traditional knowledges, and regularly engages local managers and community members.” This approach enables us to provide land...

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages a large area of public lands in the western U.S. for multiple uses and values. Because some of these uses and values may conflict, the agency’s decisions can be controversial and are often challenged. In this study, researchers analyzed public legal records to help identify priority information needs that could strengthen science-based decision-making in...

Invasive species are considered to be second only to habitat degradation in terms of negative impacts on the Earth’s ecosystems, and our scientists make up a significant proportion of the global expertise in the rapidly-growing problem of invasive reptiles.

USGS is working closely with partners in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Intermountain West Joint Venture (IMJV) to collect and summarize spatial datasets that describe measurable aspects of invasive annual grasses (e.g., biomass or presence) across the western United Stated and beyond. The products developed through this project provide...

USGS researchers, in collaboration with the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative and other partners, are developing a statistically based prioritization tool that will aid agencies in their management decisions.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages for conditions that sustain land health on over 1 million acres of public rangelands. The BLM has traditionally assessed rangelands using small-scale data, but agency guidance suggests assessment of land health standards at watershed scales. We are exploring methods to integrate remotely sensed data into BLM land health processes.

USGS scientists are contributing to the development of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Sagebrush Conservation Strategy, a strategy intended to provide guidance so that efforts to conserve the iconic greater sage-grouse can be expanded to the entire sagebrush biome to benefit the people and wildlife that depend on it.

The Bureau of Land Management Recreation and Visitor Services Program regularly conducts recreational visitor satisfaction surveys. The USGS Social and Economic Analysis Branch is assessing the visitor survey effort and recommending updates to the current effort.

The greater sage-grouse has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents.

USGS scientists are developing multiple products to directly inform the Bureau of Land Management's Sage-grouse Habitat Assessment Framework process.

Using the existing rangewide genetic and demographic data, scientists from the USGS, USDA Forest Service, and University of Waterloo will assess the relative contributions of habitat and genetic connectivity to lek size and stability.

Prioritizing landscapes for sage-grouse habitat conservation is complicated by long-term changes in climate.