Sagebrush-Associated Species

Wildlife management boundaries frequently lack biological context, such as information on habitat resource availability and wildlife movements. To address this, we developed multiple levels of biologically relevant and hierarchically nested greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus) population units that could facilitate management and conservation of populations and habitats.

Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, and University of Arizona are studying the distribution of grassland bird communities across the western Great Plains to anticipate how species distributions may respond to a changing landscape.

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.

Recent analyses of greater sage-grouse genetics have delineated areas of key genetic connectivity for this species and provided a prioritization tool for conservation and restoration of habitats essential for genetic exchange.

The Migratory Connectivity Project (MCP) is an effort to research, collect, and provide information about animal movement and full lifecycle biology, particularly for North American bird species, to agencies and NGOs interested in their conservation.

Fuel conditions and fire regimes in western forests and deserts have been altered due to past land management, biological invasions, and recent extreme weather events and climate shifts. These changes have created extreme fire risk to local and regional communities, threatening their economic health related to wildland recreation, forest production, livestock operations, and other uses of public...

The USGS, the BLM, the FWS, and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies have developed of a new DOI-funded effort, known as SageDAT.

The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) addresses effects of land-use and habitat changes on Southwest Wyoming’s natural resources. In partnership with twelve Federal, State, and local natural resource agencies, and non-governmental organizations– FORT and ten other USGS centers are conducting dozens of integrated science projects to assess the status of Southwest Wyoming’s natural...