Sagebrush and Sage Grouse

A central focus of this program is to conduct multi-scale assessments in order to develop related geospatial decision-support tools and methods. The program includes synthesizing broad-scale datasets and developing innovative approaches to assess the vulnerability and resilience of wildlife habitats and ecosystems, relative to land management decisions and ecosystem stressors on Department of the...

The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) addresses effects of land-use and climate 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...

This goal of this study is to develop a spatially explicit habitat-population modeling framework to assess the viability of Gunnison Sage-grouse and each of the seven populations (Gunnison Basin and six satellite populations).

USGS scientists and colleagues have designed a hierarchical monitoring framework for greater sage-grouse in Nevada, Wyoming, and northeastern California that will provide land managers with a monitoring and detection system to identify sage-grouse breeding locations (known as leks), clusters of leks, and populations where intervention may be necessary to sustain populations and to evaluate...

Conservation genomics is a new field of science that applies novel whole-genome sequencing technology to problems in conservation biology. Rapidly advancing molecular technologies are revolutionizing wildlife ecology, greatly expanding our understanding of wildlife and their interactions with the environment. In the same way that molecular tools such as microsatellites revolutionized wildlife...

Landscape genetics is a recently developed discipline that involves the merger of molecular population genetics and landscape ecology. The goal of this new field of study is to provide information about the interaction between landscape features and microevolutionary processes such as gene flow, genetic drift, and selection allowing for the understanding of processes that generate genetic...

Population genetics is an area of research that examines the distribution of genetic variation and levels of genetic diversity within and between populations. This information provides insights into the level of connectedness of populations throughout a species’ range and can be used to identify unique populations or those with low levels of genetic diversity.

Molecular tagging is a new application of molecular genetic techniques to traditional mark-recapture methodology designed to address situations where traditional methods fail. In such studies, non-invasively collected samples (such as feces, feathers, or fur) are used as a source of DNA that is then genotyped at multiple loci such that each individual animal can be uniquely identified. Thus, each...

Population models can incorporate genetic data to assess potential impacts of different management strategies on connectivity, effective population size, and genetic diversity.

Greater and Gunnison sage-grouse populations are species considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Loss and fragmentation of sagebrush habitats are among the primary causes of decline in these species. A fundamental need for species conservation is to identify and subsequently maintain a set of connected populations. Landscape genetics combines the fields of population...

Sagebrush ecosystems are diverse habitats found throughout western North America that support a variety of flora and fauna. Home to unique wildlife such as Sage-grouse, Sage Thrashers, Brewer's Sparrows, Ferruginous Hawks, and pygmy rabbits, these ecosystems have undergone intense changes since the time when millions of bison roamed the plains. European settlement and intense agricultural...

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...