We are working with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to pilot an expansion of the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET; Duchardt et al. 2021) across northwestern Colorado. We are in the initial phase of a two-phase project where we are leveraging existing data resources to provide customized scenarios that directly guide landscape-scale conservation delivery by CPW. This first phase is focused on sagebrush ecosystems, while the second phase will be expanded to inform management of pinyon-juniper woodlands, as well.
We are currently adapting the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET; Duchardt et al. 2021) for use by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) as a pilot project for using PReSET to guide local scale conservation delivery within the Sagebrush Conservation Design. In 2022, we conducted a stakeholder workshop series to inform the expansion of PReSET across the Colorado River Basin (CRB). During the workshop series, stakeholders expressed considerable interest in more localized applications of PReSET for the CRB. Northwest Colorado represents a region with considerable ongoing sagebrush restoration and supports important sagebrush ecosystems and associated plant communities characteristic of the sagebrush biome, making it an ideal location for piloting the tool’s expansion.
In the first phase of this project, we are using analysis-ready spatial data to prioritize sites for restoration and conservation based on customized CPW management objectives across northwest Colorado. Specifically, we are working to identify tiered priority areas for implementing sagebrush protection and restoration with an emphasis on ecological resilience, sagebrush connectivity, and long-term vegetation trends, while also considering habitat value of sagebrush-dependent and sagebrush-associated wildlife. These scenarios will inform local management decisions by providing spatially explicit maps that identify areas with low risk of restoration failure and high probability of supporting sagebrush ecosystems under a changing climate.
We intend to use the results of this work to directly guide a second phase of the project designed to inform management of the pinyon-juniper woodland to sagebrush shrubland ecotone, a key management priority for CPW and other regional stakeholders. This phase will balance the needs of sagebrush-dependent species, migratory ungulates, and pinyon-juniper species, while also accounting for expected transitions in sagebrush and pinyon-juniper habitat with climate change. Along with providing actionable tools for important stakeholders, the results of this work will inform the expansion of PReSET applications across the CRB and sagebrush biome.
Prioritizing sagebrush protection and restoration within the upper Colorado River Basin
Soil-climate for Managing Sagebrush Ecosystems
Prioritizing restoration and conservation of Wyoming’s sagebrush ecosystems for wildlife and sagebrush connectivity
Predicting Recovery of Sagebrush Ecosystems Across the Sage-grouse Range from Remotely Sensed Vegetation Data
Modeling Songbird Density-Habitat Relationships to Predict Population Responses to Environmental Change Within Pinyon-juniper and Sagebrush Ecosystems
Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET): A USGS-facilitated Decision-support Tool for Sagebrush Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration Actions
Optimization of Management Actions for Restoration Success and Wildlife Populations
Informing the Habitat Assessment Framework Process—An Assessment to Understand Habitat Patch Composition and Configuration Requirements for Range-Wide Sage-Grouse Persistence
Defining Multi-Scaled Functional Landscape Connectivity for the Sagebrush Biome to Support Management and Conservation Planning of Multiple Species
- Overview
We are working with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to pilot an expansion of the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET; Duchardt et al. 2021) across northwestern Colorado. We are in the initial phase of a two-phase project where we are leveraging existing data resources to provide customized scenarios that directly guide landscape-scale conservation delivery by CPW. This first phase is focused on sagebrush ecosystems, while the second phase will be expanded to inform management of pinyon-juniper woodlands, as well.
We are currently adapting the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET; Duchardt et al. 2021) for use by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) as a pilot project for using PReSET to guide local scale conservation delivery within the Sagebrush Conservation Design. In 2022, we conducted a stakeholder workshop series to inform the expansion of PReSET across the Colorado River Basin (CRB). During the workshop series, stakeholders expressed considerable interest in more localized applications of PReSET for the CRB. Northwest Colorado represents a region with considerable ongoing sagebrush restoration and supports important sagebrush ecosystems and associated plant communities characteristic of the sagebrush biome, making it an ideal location for piloting the tool’s expansion.
In the first phase of this project, we are using analysis-ready spatial data to prioritize sites for restoration and conservation based on customized CPW management objectives across northwest Colorado. Specifically, we are working to identify tiered priority areas for implementing sagebrush protection and restoration with an emphasis on ecological resilience, sagebrush connectivity, and long-term vegetation trends, while also considering habitat value of sagebrush-dependent and sagebrush-associated wildlife. These scenarios will inform local management decisions by providing spatially explicit maps that identify areas with low risk of restoration failure and high probability of supporting sagebrush ecosystems under a changing climate.
We intend to use the results of this work to directly guide a second phase of the project designed to inform management of the pinyon-juniper woodland to sagebrush shrubland ecotone, a key management priority for CPW and other regional stakeholders. This phase will balance the needs of sagebrush-dependent species, migratory ungulates, and pinyon-juniper species, while also accounting for expected transitions in sagebrush and pinyon-juniper habitat with climate change. Along with providing actionable tools for important stakeholders, the results of this work will inform the expansion of PReSET applications across the CRB and sagebrush biome.
- Science
Prioritizing sagebrush protection and restoration within the upper Colorado River Basin
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...Soil-climate for Managing Sagebrush Ecosystems
Soil-climate describes the temperature and moisture conditions important for plant growth and function. Soil condition patterns determine which vegetation is most abundant, thus controlling which habitats, invasive species, fuels, and economic activities are present in a region. Here, we use a model to simulate the vertical movement of water in a soil profile to provide insights into landscape...Prioritizing restoration and conservation of Wyoming’s sagebrush ecosystems for wildlife and sagebrush connectivity
To support strategic ecosystem management across the imperiled sagebrush steppe in Wyoming, USA, we developed an extension of the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET). Our expanded tool leverages emerging spatial data resources to provide a structured but customizable set of scenarios that can guide landscape-scale planning efforts by prioritizing conservation and...Predicting Recovery of Sagebrush Ecosystems Across the Sage-grouse Range from Remotely Sensed Vegetation Data
USGS researchers are using remote-sensing and other broadscale datasets to study and predict recovery of sagebrush across the sage-grouse range, assessing influence of disturbance, restoration treatments, soil moisture, and other ecological conditions on trends in sagebrush cover. The results will be used to inform conservation prioritization models, economic analyses, climate change projections...Modeling Songbird Density-Habitat Relationships to Predict Population Responses to Environmental Change Within Pinyon-juniper and Sagebrush Ecosystems
Within areas of overlapping sagebrush and pinyon-juniper ecosystems, wildlife populations are declining due to habitat fragmentation and degradation, changing climate, and human development. However, management to bolster species associated with one ecosystem may result in negative consequences for species associated with the other. Thus, land managers are challenged with balancing which system to...Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET): A USGS-facilitated Decision-support Tool for Sagebrush Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration Actions
Sagebrush ecosystems represent one of the most imperiled systems in North America and face continued and widespread degradation due to multiple factors including climate change, invasive species, and increased human development. Effective sagebrush management must consider how to best conserve and restore habitats to stem the decline of species that rely on them, especially given limited...Optimization of Management Actions for Restoration Success and Wildlife Populations
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.Informing the Habitat Assessment Framework Process—An Assessment to Understand Habitat Patch Composition and Configuration Requirements for Range-Wide Sage-Grouse Persistence
USGS scientists are developing multiple products to directly inform the Bureau of Land Management's Sage-grouse Habitat Assessment Framework process.Defining Multi-Scaled Functional Landscape Connectivity for the Sagebrush Biome to Support Management and Conservation Planning of Multiple Species
USGS and Colorado State University scientists are modelling multispecies connectivity through intact and disturbed areas of the sagebrush landscape. - Publications
- Partners