Northwest

A persistent management question is whether current climate adaptation planning will remain robust when facing a growing number of invasive species. The concern is that current management strategies that focus exclusively on single invasive species and overlook climate-driven biological interactions, may lead to poor decisions. By delivering actionable science, this project directly...

Sagebrush steppe ecosystems provide livelihoods for humans and essential habitats for wildlife, and thus management actions in these systems to promote wildlife persistence must strike a balance between human needs with those of wildlife. Across the western U.S., these landscapes have been heavily altered or lost through human activities, and climate change is expected to cause further...

Natural & cultural resource managers are facing a slew of new challenges for managing public lands stemming from climate change and human-driven stressors like invasive species, fragmentation, and new resource uses. In some cases, the very landscapes and species they are managing are changing in significant ways, transforming from one set of conditions to another. As a result, previously...

Surface-water availability has been identified as one of the biggest issues facing society in the 21st century. Where and when water is on the landscape can have profound impacts on the economy, wildlife behavior, recreational use, industrial practices, energy development, and many other aspects of life, society, and the environment. Projections indicate that surface-water availability...

Mountain meadows in the western United States provide key habitats for many plant and wildlife species, many of which rely exclusively on these areas. Mountain meadows are also treasured by the public and provide beautiful areas to view wildflowers and wildlife on public lands such as national parks. However, mountain ecosystems are expected to be disproportionately affected by climate...

Climate change has the potential to magnify existing problems in conservation, such as invasive species and disease. This threat is particularly severe in the Klamath Basin, where the fish parasite Ceratonova shastais making national headlines for killing salmon, and invasive trout have extirpated populations of native trout. The Klamath Basin is slated for one of the largest restoration...

As wildfire activity surges in the western U.S., managers are increasingly challenged by decisions surrounding managing post-fire environments. Changing fire regimes and warmer, drier post-fire conditions are increasing the likelihood of post-fire vegetation transitions, for example, from forest to grassland. Given the economic and ecological importance of these ecosystems...

Throughout the Pacific Northwest, invasive flora threaten river ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Invasive plants harm water quality, occupy habitat for native species, reduce recreation opportunities, and damage infrastructure such as pumps and dams. Resource managers from federal, state, and local agencies, as well as local non-profits, spend hundreds of thousands of...

Native mussels are in precipitous decline across North America. As part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s (CTUIR) First Foods management framework that places significant value on the cultural importance of traditional food resources, they have been identified as a top conservation priority in the Pacific Northwest. Freshwater mussels are a vital component...

Pacific salmon need cold water and quality habitat to survive. As climate change continues to increase river temperatures, effective methods to restore cool-water refuges and logjam habitats need to be determined. Many salmon habitat restoration projects in the Pacific Northwest have built engineered logjams (ELJs) to create deep, cool pools and reconnect rivers to floodplains to...

The Pacific Northwest is a hotspot for temperate amphibian biodiversity and is home to many species of salamanders and frogs found nowhere else on earth. Changing climatic conditions threaten habitat for many of these species and may also enhance the risk of disease and invasive species encroachment. State and federal wildlife agencies are in the process of evaluating these threats, but

A change in wildfire regimes and the expansion of invasive grasses are degrading sagebrush ecosystems, altering wildlife habitats, and threatening property and human livelihoods. In response, land managers often treat large areas of land with fuel reduction or post-fire seeding treatments in an attempt to reduce these risks. However, the trajectories of ecosystem change following...