Prioritizing restoration and conservation of sagebrush ecosystems in northwestern Colorado
We are working with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to pilot an expansion of the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET; Duchardt et al. 2021) across northwestern Colorado. We are in the initial phase of a two-phase project where we are leveraging existing data resources to provide customized scenarios that directly guide landscape-scale conservation delivery by CPW. This first phase is focused on sagebrush ecosystems, while the second phase will be expanded to inform management of pinyon-juniper woodlands, as well.
We are currently adapting the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET; Duchardt et al. 2021) for use by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) as a pilot project for using PReSET to guide local scale conservation delivery within the Sagebrush Conservation Design. In 2022, we conducted a stakeholder workshop series to inform the expansion of PReSET across the Colorado River Basin (CRB). During the workshop series, stakeholders expressed considerable interest in more localized applications of PReSET for the CRB. Northwest Colorado represents a region with considerable ongoing sagebrush restoration and supports important sagebrush ecosystems and associated plant communities characteristic of the sagebrush biome, making it an ideal location for piloting the tool’s expansion.
In the first phase of this project, we are using analysis-ready spatial data to prioritize sites for restoration and conservation based on customized CPW management objectives across northwest Colorado. Specifically, we are working to identify tiered priority areas for implementing sagebrush protection and restoration with an emphasis on ecological resilience, sagebrush connectivity, and long-term vegetation trends, while also considering habitat value of sagebrush-dependent and sagebrush-associated wildlife. These scenarios will inform local management decisions by providing spatially explicit maps that identify areas with low risk of restoration failure and high probability of supporting sagebrush ecosystems under a changing climate.
We intend to use the results of this work to directly guide a second phase of the project designed to inform management of the pinyon-juniper woodland to sagebrush shrubland ecotone, a key management priority for CPW and other regional stakeholders. This phase will balance the needs of sagebrush-dependent species, migratory ungulates, and pinyon-juniper species, while also accounting for expected transitions in sagebrush and pinyon-juniper habitat with climate change. Along with providing actionable tools for important stakeholders, the results of this work will inform the expansion of PReSET applications across the CRB and sagebrush biome.
