Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET): A USGS-facilitated Decision-support Tool for Sagebrush Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration Actions Active
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 conservation resources. To guide strategic conservation efforts and help land managers balance conservation priorities, we developed the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET). This decision-support tool generates maps of prioritized sites for restoration and conservation actions, based on customized management objectives such as restoring habitat connectivity or preserving sagebrush habitat resilient to climate change.
PReSET uses integer linear programming to identify optimal sites for conservation delivery based on spatial data that characterize management objectives and ecological conditions, such as focal species, vegetation structure, ecological processes, property or priority area boundaries. The PReSET team works with stakeholders to design customized prioritization scenarios to meet the unique objectives of managers at local and regional scales.
PReSET scenarios generally aim to either minimize management risk or ecological costs while meeting specific conservation targets, or maximize all conservation targets given land area budgets. For example, the risk of sagebrush restoration failure could be minimized while ensuring enough land is restored to provide habitat for 100,000 Brewer’s sparrows and 20,000 sagebrush sparrows, while also restoring 20% of lost sagebrush connectivity. Alternatively, PReSET could identify 1,000,000 acres that provide the most connected sagebrush habitat and highest estimated densities of Brewer’s and sagebrush sparrows. In either case, the flexibility of scenario structure and capacity to integrate a diverse array of data inputs allows PReSET to be tailored to specific management actions such as invasive annual grass treatments, pinyon-juniper removal, sagebrush seeding, and more.
The first iteration of PReSET was developed in southwest Wyoming to prioritize restoration of sagebrush habitat for multiple species while minimizing the risk of restoration failure at multiple spatial scales (Figure 1; Duchardt and others, 2021). Since then, we have developed applications for the sagebrush ecosystem in Wyoming, and are co-producing applications for northwest Colorado, Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus), and the upper Colorado River Basin.
Key Concepts and Outcomes
- PReSET is a decision-support tool that can help guide effective and efficient management planning for habitats in sagebrush ecosystems.
- PReSET generates maps that identify optimal locations for achieving management objectives based on a customized suite of prioritization scenarios.
- Applications of PReSET will complement existing conservation strategies used by agencies, such as Priority Habitat Management Areas or Priority Areas for Conservation, big game migration corridors, and the Sagebrush Conservation Design. Protection and restoration scenarios can be used to further refine “defend and grow the core” initiatives for sagebrush management.
- PReSET’s underlying framework is fully customizable and can incorporate a variety of available spatial data describing ecosystem structure or function, species of conservation concern, risk of undesired effects of management, or other management considerations across space, thereby ensuring high relevancy to sagebrush conservation planning efforts. For example, it can incorporate important changes on the landscape which are likely to have large influences on conservation planning, including human development, invasive species, and climate change.
- PReSET can be applied at multiple spatial scales, from county or watershed applications to regional or continental, to match the needs of stakeholders/end-users.
- We are currently working on a PReSET user interface that will more easily allow managers to evaluate scenarios and quickly assess possible outcomes when management or conservation questions arise.
PReSET for Wyoming
PReSET for Northwestern Colorado
PReSET for the Upper Colorado River Basin
PReSET for Gunnison sage-grouse
Frequently Asked Questions
When will PReSET map products be available for use?
We currently have maps of hypothetical scenarios available (Duchardt et al. 2021) or in production to demonstrate capabilities of PReSET. Customized maps will be developed in conjunction with specific regional PReSET applications, as was done in Wyoming and northwestern Colorado, and will be made publicly accessible via USGS data releases. We also anticipate making these data available to explore and download via a USGS web viewer in the Fall of 2023.
Is there software available so I can run PReSET on my own computer?
Yes and no. While PReSET operates using open-source software, the technical details behind customization of the tool are complicated and running optimizations requires substantial computing resources and time. For these reasons, we recommend that users leverage our knowledge and computing resources to answer specific management questions with PReSET. In late 2023 or early 2024 we will make all PReSET scenarios and maps accessible via a web viewer so users can explore selected locations and scenario outcomes. Our long-term plan is to bundle popular PReSET capabilities into a user-friendly application so that partners can identify areas of interest and generate summary statistics based on their management objectives using the scenarios provided, however, these resources are not yet available.
Can we use our own spatial data in PReSET?
Yes! Spatial data from any source can be incorporated into PReSET to address management questions if they are informative for the scenario proposed.
Our team uses an existing conservation strategy, how can PReSET be used to refine these spatial management plans?
As shown in Duchardt et al. (2021), the spatial extent and resolution of management questions can be customized within PReSET. This facilitates further refinement of existing conservation strategies that identify or rank areas for management action. Incorporating additional decision-making resources in PReSET can lead to more efficient or effective use of limited management resources within existing conservation strategies.
I’d like to develop a scenario specific to my local jurisdiction or area of work, is that possible?
Yes! Currently, these options are only available on a limited basis where sufficient funding for USGS resources is available. The long-term goal is to transfer a subset of key tool capabilities (identified as important by and for stakeholders and partners) into a user-guided website application where users can design their own scenarios which address their spatial extent and conservation objectives.
At what spatial resolution(s) does PReSET function?
PReSET currently synthesizes 30-m resolution data inputs to quantify conservation objectives. However, users should weigh the trade-offs between fine resolutions with increased computing resource demands to obtain solutions.
How might uncertainty in spatial inputs affect the accuracy of its map products?
We are currently exploring how to consider uncertainty of spatial layers in PReSET scenarios and gauge the potential impacts on solutions. Results will be discussed in an upcoming publication describing our application of PReSET to the sagebrush ecosystem in Wyoming.
Gunnison Sage-grouse Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET)
Prioritizing restoration and conservation of sagebrush ecosystems in northwestern Colorado
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
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
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 conservation resources. To guide strategic conservation efforts and help land managers balance conservation priorities, we developed the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET). This decision-support tool generates maps of prioritized sites for restoration and conservation actions, based on customized management objectives such as restoring habitat connectivity or preserving sagebrush habitat resilient to climate change.
PReSET uses integer linear programming to identify optimal sites for conservation delivery based on spatial data that characterize management objectives and ecological conditions, such as focal species, vegetation structure, ecological processes, property or priority area boundaries. The PReSET team works with stakeholders to design customized prioritization scenarios to meet the unique objectives of managers at local and regional scales.
PReSET scenarios generally aim to either minimize management risk or ecological costs while meeting specific conservation targets, or maximize all conservation targets given land area budgets. For example, the risk of sagebrush restoration failure could be minimized while ensuring enough land is restored to provide habitat for 100,000 Brewer’s sparrows and 20,000 sagebrush sparrows, while also restoring 20% of lost sagebrush connectivity. Alternatively, PReSET could identify 1,000,000 acres that provide the most connected sagebrush habitat and highest estimated densities of Brewer’s and sagebrush sparrows. In either case, the flexibility of scenario structure and capacity to integrate a diverse array of data inputs allows PReSET to be tailored to specific management actions such as invasive annual grass treatments, pinyon-juniper removal, sagebrush seeding, and more.
The first iteration of PReSET was developed in southwest Wyoming to prioritize restoration of sagebrush habitat for multiple species while minimizing the risk of restoration failure at multiple spatial scales (Figure 1; Duchardt and others, 2021). Since then, we have developed applications for the sagebrush ecosystem in Wyoming, and are co-producing applications for northwest Colorado, Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus), and the upper Colorado River Basin.
Key Concepts and Outcomes
- PReSET is a decision-support tool that can help guide effective and efficient management planning for habitats in sagebrush ecosystems.
- PReSET generates maps that identify optimal locations for achieving management objectives based on a customized suite of prioritization scenarios.
- Applications of PReSET will complement existing conservation strategies used by agencies, such as Priority Habitat Management Areas or Priority Areas for Conservation, big game migration corridors, and the Sagebrush Conservation Design. Protection and restoration scenarios can be used to further refine “defend and grow the core” initiatives for sagebrush management.
- PReSET’s underlying framework is fully customizable and can incorporate a variety of available spatial data describing ecosystem structure or function, species of conservation concern, risk of undesired effects of management, or other management considerations across space, thereby ensuring high relevancy to sagebrush conservation planning efforts. For example, it can incorporate important changes on the landscape which are likely to have large influences on conservation planning, including human development, invasive species, and climate change.
- PReSET can be applied at multiple spatial scales, from county or watershed applications to regional or continental, to match the needs of stakeholders/end-users.
- We are currently working on a PReSET user interface that will more easily allow managers to evaluate scenarios and quickly assess possible outcomes when management or conservation questions arise.
PReSET for Wyoming
PReSET for Northwestern Colorado
PReSET for the Upper Colorado River Basin
PReSET for Gunnison sage-grouse
Frequently Asked Questions
When will PReSET map products be available for use?
We currently have maps of hypothetical scenarios available (Duchardt et al. 2021) or in production to demonstrate capabilities of PReSET. Customized maps will be developed in conjunction with specific regional PReSET applications, as was done in Wyoming and northwestern Colorado, and will be made publicly accessible via USGS data releases. We also anticipate making these data available to explore and download via a USGS web viewer in the Fall of 2023.
Is there software available so I can run PReSET on my own computer?
Yes and no. While PReSET operates using open-source software, the technical details behind customization of the tool are complicated and running optimizations requires substantial computing resources and time. For these reasons, we recommend that users leverage our knowledge and computing resources to answer specific management questions with PReSET. In late 2023 or early 2024 we will make all PReSET scenarios and maps accessible via a web viewer so users can explore selected locations and scenario outcomes. Our long-term plan is to bundle popular PReSET capabilities into a user-friendly application so that partners can identify areas of interest and generate summary statistics based on their management objectives using the scenarios provided, however, these resources are not yet available.
Can we use our own spatial data in PReSET?
Yes! Spatial data from any source can be incorporated into PReSET to address management questions if they are informative for the scenario proposed.
Our team uses an existing conservation strategy, how can PReSET be used to refine these spatial management plans?
As shown in Duchardt et al. (2021), the spatial extent and resolution of management questions can be customized within PReSET. This facilitates further refinement of existing conservation strategies that identify or rank areas for management action. Incorporating additional decision-making resources in PReSET can lead to more efficient or effective use of limited management resources within existing conservation strategies.
I’d like to develop a scenario specific to my local jurisdiction or area of work, is that possible?
Yes! Currently, these options are only available on a limited basis where sufficient funding for USGS resources is available. The long-term goal is to transfer a subset of key tool capabilities (identified as important by and for stakeholders and partners) into a user-guided website application where users can design their own scenarios which address their spatial extent and conservation objectives.
At what spatial resolution(s) does PReSET function?
PReSET currently synthesizes 30-m resolution data inputs to quantify conservation objectives. However, users should weigh the trade-offs between fine resolutions with increased computing resource demands to obtain solutions.
How might uncertainty in spatial inputs affect the accuracy of its map products?
We are currently exploring how to consider uncertainty of spatial layers in PReSET scenarios and gauge the potential impacts on solutions. Results will be discussed in an upcoming publication describing our application of PReSET to the sagebrush ecosystem in Wyoming.