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The SAGE Wildlife Research Group consists of a large team of research scientists with an interest in conservation and management of wildlife and their ecosystems. Broadly, research involves understanding animal-habitat relationships, with an emphasis on conservation ecology and population demography, and a focus on shrubland, alpine, and grassland ecosystems. We are addressing the effects of energy development and land-use change on conserving wildlife populations, their habitats, and the ecosystems they inhabit, and work closely on these issues with state and federal partners, NGOs, conservation groups and industry.
Species we currently study include songbirds, mammals, snakes, lizards, and grouse, such as white-tailed ptarmigan and sage-grouse. We also work with plant communities and exotic invasive plants to understand how external drivers such as grazing and energy development affect plant communities and thus, wildlife. We work across spatial scales and use statistical and empirical modeling to answer research questions, many of which have direct applications for conservation and management of species, most notably sage-grouse, and their habitats.
Restoration of the imperiled sagebrush biome will require tools that assist resource managers in determining which restoration practices are most effective, and when and where restoration efforts will lead to the most ecosystem recovery. New research from USGS and Colorado State University provides biome-wide insights and spatially explicit tools that can inform restoration practices.
Mine lands are prevalent across the United States, and to monitor mines using solely on-the-ground measurements can be costly and time-consuming. In a new report funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, USGS researchers provide an overview of remote sensing and its use in assessing mine land recovery, while also highlighting the associated benefits and potential challenges.
Cameron Aldridge received WAFWA’s Robert L. Patterson Award during the 34th Biennial Sage and Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Workshop. This award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to sage- and sharp-tailed grouse conservation and management.
Greater sage-grouse are often considered an umbrella species, or a species whose conservation indirectly protects other species within the umbrella species’ ecosystem. In this study, researchers used data-driven population models for seven sagebrush-dependent species to evaluate the efficacy of greater sage-grouse as an umbrella species.
An animated heat map of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) annual peak male counts from 1990 to 2023 using the standardized sage-grouse lek database. The color ramp uses light blue (fewest number of males counted on leks) to purple (greatest number of males counted on leks), reflecting local minimum and maximum counts of males.
An animated heat map of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) annual peak male counts from 1990 to 2023 using the standardized sage-grouse lek database. The color ramp uses light blue (fewest number of males counted on leks) to purple (greatest number of males counted on leks), reflecting local minimum and maximum counts of males.
Average abundance values within neighborhood clusters across the sage-grouse range over six low points.
Average abundance values within neighborhood clusters across the sage-grouse range over six low points.
Climate and neighborhood spatial clusters across the greater sage-grouse range.
Climate and neighborhood spatial clusters across the greater sage-grouse range.
Road intersecting a snowy landscape; Gunnison Sage-Grouse habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge.
Road intersecting a snowy landscape; Gunnison Sage-Grouse habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge.
Dirt road cuts through Gunnison sage grouse habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge (USGS).
Dirt road cuts through Gunnison sage grouse habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge (USGS).
Road and multiple oil well sites fragmenting sage brush habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge (USGS)
Road and multiple oil well sites fragmenting sage brush habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge (USGS)
The SAGE Wildlife Research Group consists of a large team of research scientists with an interest in conservation and management of wildlife and their ecosystems. Broadly, research involves understanding animal-habitat relationships, with an emphasis on conservation ecology and population demography, and a focus on shrubland, alpine, and grassland ecosystems. We are addressing the effects of energy development and land-use change on conserving wildlife populations, their habitats, and the ecosystems they inhabit, and work closely on these issues with state and federal partners, NGOs, conservation groups and industry.
Species we currently study include songbirds, mammals, snakes, lizards, and grouse, such as white-tailed ptarmigan and sage-grouse. We also work with plant communities and exotic invasive plants to understand how external drivers such as grazing and energy development affect plant communities and thus, wildlife. We work across spatial scales and use statistical and empirical modeling to answer research questions, many of which have direct applications for conservation and management of species, most notably sage-grouse, and their habitats.
Restoration of the imperiled sagebrush biome will require tools that assist resource managers in determining which restoration practices are most effective, and when and where restoration efforts will lead to the most ecosystem recovery. New research from USGS and Colorado State University provides biome-wide insights and spatially explicit tools that can inform restoration practices.
Mine lands are prevalent across the United States, and to monitor mines using solely on-the-ground measurements can be costly and time-consuming. In a new report funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, USGS researchers provide an overview of remote sensing and its use in assessing mine land recovery, while also highlighting the associated benefits and potential challenges.
Cameron Aldridge received WAFWA’s Robert L. Patterson Award during the 34th Biennial Sage and Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Workshop. This award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to sage- and sharp-tailed grouse conservation and management.
Greater sage-grouse are often considered an umbrella species, or a species whose conservation indirectly protects other species within the umbrella species’ ecosystem. In this study, researchers used data-driven population models for seven sagebrush-dependent species to evaluate the efficacy of greater sage-grouse as an umbrella species.
An animated heat map of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) annual peak male counts from 1990 to 2023 using the standardized sage-grouse lek database. The color ramp uses light blue (fewest number of males counted on leks) to purple (greatest number of males counted on leks), reflecting local minimum and maximum counts of males.
An animated heat map of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) annual peak male counts from 1990 to 2023 using the standardized sage-grouse lek database. The color ramp uses light blue (fewest number of males counted on leks) to purple (greatest number of males counted on leks), reflecting local minimum and maximum counts of males.
Average abundance values within neighborhood clusters across the sage-grouse range over six low points.
Average abundance values within neighborhood clusters across the sage-grouse range over six low points.
Climate and neighborhood spatial clusters across the greater sage-grouse range.
Climate and neighborhood spatial clusters across the greater sage-grouse range.
Road intersecting a snowy landscape; Gunnison Sage-Grouse habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge.
Road intersecting a snowy landscape; Gunnison Sage-Grouse habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge.
Dirt road cuts through Gunnison sage grouse habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge (USGS).
Dirt road cuts through Gunnison sage grouse habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge (USGS).
Road and multiple oil well sites fragmenting sage brush habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge (USGS)
Road and multiple oil well sites fragmenting sage brush habitat. Photo by Cameron Aldridge (USGS)
