Landscape Management Research Program
Landscape Management Research Program
WERC scientists study landscape level change and other environmental threats to ecosystems that provide for wildlife and humans alike. Our research programs inform the recovery of ecosystems such as the nearshore marine environment, coastal marshes, wetlands, forests, Pacific islands, arid deserts, and the sagebrush steppe. Ecosystem-level research is conducted in particular on National Parks, Bureau of Land Management and Department of Defense lands, National Wildlife Refuges, and State lands, bays, and interior and coastal waters The projects below offer a closer look into WERC studies informing ecosystem management.
Filter Total Items: 44
Estimating spatial variation in greater sage-grouse lek buffers using seasonal space use models
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...
A user-friendly decision support tool for monitoring and managing greater sage-grouse populations
Researchers within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Colorado State University (CSU) worked with BLM and State Wildlife Agencies to develop a hierarchical population monitoring framework for managing greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ) populations and the sagebrush ecosystems that they depend upon for survival and reproduction. This hierarchical population monitoring strategy now...
Hierarchical Population Monitoring Framework for Greater Sage-Grouse
Greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ) are at the center of state and national land use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for health of sagebrush ecosystems. Researchers within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Colorado State University (CSU) worked with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and state wildlife agencies to develop a...
Influence of future climate scenarios on habitat and population dynamics of greater sage-grouse
Sagebrush ecosystems and sagebrush-dependent wildlife species are likely to experience more frequent extreme drought and temperature conditions with changing climate. Greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ), an indicator species in sagebrush ecosystems, may experience habitat and population losses that are increasingly exacerbated by current and future climate change. However, the direct...
A targeted annual warning system (TAWS) for identifying aberrant declines in greater sage-grouse populations
Land and wildlife managers require accurate estimates of sensitive species’ trends to help guide conservation decisions that maintain biodiversity and promote healthy ecosystems. Researchers within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Colorado State University (CSU) worked with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and State Wildlife Agencies to develop a hierarchical population monitoring...
Understanding Population Trends for the Gunnison Sage-Grouse to Inform Adaptive Management
In partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, scientists from USGS Fort Collins Science Center and Western Ecological Research Center are applying a hierarchical monitoring framework to Gunnison sage-grouse ( Centrocercus minimus ) to evaluate population trends and inform adaptive management.
Using simulation models to project and evaluate post-fire success in restoring sage-grouse habitat over large landscapes
Wildfires are increasingly destroying wildlife habitat in sagebrush ( Artemisia species) ecosystems, and managers need approaches to scope the pace and degree to which post-fire restoration actions can re-create habitat in dynamic landscapes. Sagebrush recovery takes a long time, and it can be difficult to anticipate restoration outcomes over large, diverse landscapes that have experienced decades...
Simulating the influence of sagebrush restoration on post-fire sage-grouse population recovery
Increased wildfire-induced loss of sagebrush in North American shrublands are outpacing natural recovery and leading to substantial habitat loss for sagebrush-obligate species like sage-grouse. Transplanting sagebrush ( Artemisia species) is a possible strategy for revegetating burned areas, but little is known about sage-grouse or other wildlife responses to restoration strategies.
Using Drone Imagery to Assess Impacts of the 2018 Carr Fire
USGS WERC’s Dr. Karen Thorne and her research team are using drone imagery to understand how the 2018 Carr Fire affected ecosystems and cultural resources. The study, a collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS), focuses on Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in northern California. The drone images will help the WERC researchers identify changes in topography, cultural sites, debris...
Southern California Wildfire Risk Scenario Project
Every year, wildfires devastate the landscapes of Southern California from Los Angeles to San Diego. How has a higher number of human-caused fires affected fire hazards and threats to resources? WERC’s Dr. Jon Keeley and collaborators are analyzing fire patterns across the state to help cities balance their management of fire hazards and natural resources.
Adaptations to Rapid Change
Management decisions are made at the intersection of facts and values, and WERC's role is to assist decision-makers by bringing the best available science to the table. Dr. Nathan Stephenson seeks to help managers and policy makers reassess their missions in light of rapid and unprecedented changes, develop broad concepts relevant to adapting to such changes, and provide hands-on assistance during...
Aridlands Disturbances and Restoration Ecology
Desert landscapes are rapidly changing due to increases in invasive plant species, frequency of wildfires, urban and energy development, recreational use, military training, and climate variation. Dr. Todd Esque, USGS researchers, and collaborators are working together to investigate these changes and provide managers with key information that can be used to manage natural resources more...