Dr. Orning is an ecologist at the Fort Collins Science Center, where she works on applied research that supports the conservation and management of sage-grouse and their habitats.
Beth (she/her) is an ecologist at the Fort Collins Science Center and part of a large collaborative research team focused on developing science and technologies that address landscape-scale questions of wildlife, habitat, and energy and land use across the west. Her research interests focus on using field methodology and remote sensing to better understand the intersection of spatial ecology, population demography, interspecific relationships (predator-prey, competition), and applied research to facilitate management of endangered, threatened, and species of conservation concern. She currently works on quantitative and simulation modeling that supports the conservation and management of sage-grouse and their habitats across the sagebrush biome.
Science and Products
Simulating the influence of sagebrush restoration on post-fire sage-grouse population recovery
Using simulation models to project and evaluate post-fire success in restoring sage-grouse habitat over large landscapes
Linking post-fire sagebrush restoration and sage-grouse habitat recovery
Economic assessment of addressing annual invasive grasses across the sagebrush biome
Field of Sagebrush Dreams: Planting and Restoring Functional Sagebrush in Burned Landscapes
Science and Products
- Publications
- Science
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 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...Linking post-fire sagebrush restoration and sage-grouse habitat recovery
Many revegetation projects are intended to benefit focal wildlife species. Yet, few scope the ability of revegetation efforts to yield habitat. To investigate the ability of alternative sagebrush (Artemisia species) planting strategies to recover habitat conditions for the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), USGS and Colorado State University scientists developed a spatial vegetation...Economic assessment of addressing annual invasive grasses across the sagebrush biome
This interdisciplinary project combines expert judgment on treatment costs with spatially explicit ecological modeling to estimate the financial resources needed to address the threat of invasive annual grass across the entire sagebrush biome. Results of the assessment will provide economic insights that can inform cost-effective resource allocation to efficiently achieve sagebrush conservation...Field of Sagebrush Dreams: Planting and Restoring Functional Sagebrush in Burned Landscapes
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. The products and information developed for this project will help restoration practitioners, biologists, and land managers evaluate the efficacy of sagebrush restoration approaches as well as their ability... - Data
- News
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government