Effective Management Strategies for Sage-Grouse and Sagebrush: A Question of Triage? Michael J. Wisdom U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station La Grande, Oregon Mary M. Rowland U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station La Grande, Oregon Robin J. Tausch U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mounta...

Fragmentation of the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem has led to concern about a variety of sagebrush obligates including the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). Given the increase of energy development within greater sage-grouse habitats, mapping seasonal habitats in pre-development populations is critical. The North Park population in Colorado is one of the largest and most s...

The sagebrush biome within the western United States has been reshaped by disturbances, management, and changing environmental conditions. As a result, cover configuration have varied over space time, influencing processes species that rely on contiguous, connected sagebrush. Previous studies documented changes in cover, but we know little about how connectivity of changed time across biome. We...

For the past several years, USGS has taken a multi-faceted approach to investigating the condition and trends in sagebrush steppe ecosystems. This recent effort builds upon decades of work in semi-arid ecosystems providing a specific, applied focus on the cumulative impacts of expanding human activities across these landscapes. Here, we discuss several on-going projects contributing to these ef...