Where There's Water, There's Life

NEW WLFW-AFFILIATED RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS THE CRITICAL ROLE AGRICULTURE PLAYS IN SUSTAINING THE WEST'S MESIC RESOURCES

In the sagebrush biome, water is precious. It’s also rare. Mesic resources—areas where water meets land, like riparian zones along streams and rivers, wet meadows, seeps and springs, and flood-irrigated pastures—play a critical role for wildlife and livestock. In fact, 80% of sagebrush country’s wildlife rely on mesic resources at some point in their annual life cycle, even though these areas make up 2% of the landscape. 

 

Mesic resources are particularly important later in the summer when upland vegetation communities dry out and become significantly less productive. Given their importance for both wildlife and livestock, understanding long-term trends in mesic resource productivity is critical for improving biome-wide management of these life-sustaining resources.  

 

A WLFW-affiliated research team, led by Kristopher Mueller, explored how late-season (July 15-September 30) mesic resources have responded to drought and human activities over the last 40 years across 10.62 million acres of the sagebrush biome. 

 

Their findings, published in Ecological Indicators, reveal a profound shift in how Western mesic resources behave under drought—and highlight the indispensable role of cattle ranching and private working lands in buffering the West against climate shocks.

 

Are you a conservation planner or practitioner engaged in mesic restoration? Be sure to check out WLFW's Mesic Analysis Platform, which aids conservation professionals with prioritizing, mapping, and analyzing mesic resources across the sagebrush biome.  

Upcoming Seminar:

Great Plains Grassland Conservation & Management

NOVEMBER 12 @ 11:30 CT

Join WLFW’s Great Plains Grasslands Science Advisor and University of Nebraska–Lincoln professor Dirac Twidwell and leading rangeland researches and practitioners for a focused update on grassland conservation across the Great Plains.

 

They will share updates on rangeland wildfire and post-fire restoration, woody species encroachment managed at scale across the Plains, and the continued emergence of spatial analyses and continent-wide modeling of grasslands and wildlife population responses.

Invasive Annual Grasses: Bad Seeds

FEATURE PUBLISHED IN 'MONTANA OUTDOORS' SHOWS HOW PARTNERS ARE DEFENDING NATIVE PLANTS IN THE TREASURE STATE 

Sometimes a plant’s name just nails it. Take cheatgrass.

 

The moment snow melts in early spring, cheatgrass erupts from the cold soil while native plants are still slumbering, one of the first to green up.

 

Forming dense mats, cheatgrass steals soil moisture from other vegetation and sprouts millions of seeds—the ones that coat your socks and burrow into your dog’s coat. Then, before the 4th of July fireworks, it cures to a tinder-dry, rusty brown while other plants are still green, ready to burn like it’s soaked in gasoline. 

How To Talk To Texans About Trees

NEW RESOURCES FOR CONSERVATION PRACTITIONERS FROM THE PLAYA LAKES JOINT VENTURE

In 2022, the Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) launched a social science research project, supported by an NRCS Conservation Innovations Grant. 

 

Their goal was to better understand what motivates landowners to conserve resources, what keeps them from taking action, who they trust, and what messages actually resonate.

 

The PLJV recently released a set of resources and trainings based on the results from Texas landowners. These key takeaways can help rangeland conservationists better communicate with landowners in the southern Great Plains: 

• Use Preferred Words: In Texas, for example, landowners speak more about "brush management" rather than "tree management". 
• Gather Background Information: Spend time learning about landowners' overall goals. Which woody species do they want to keep or get rid of? Which neighbors might they partner with? Where do they want brush removed?
• Discover Motivations and Barriers:  Why do landowners want to control brush—to improve forage or wildlife habitat or reduce wildfire risk? What are their concerns and hesitations?
• Provide Information and Follow Through: Thoughtfully sharing information on programs and assistance is important, as is sharing successful examples from neighbors and other rangelands.   

The PLJV offers a host of resources for conservation professionals that explain these takeaways. Learn practical tips and best practices for communicating with landowners in Texas and beyond. 

Graduate Research Opportunity

WORK WITH WLFW AND STUDY MESIC RESOURCE USE BY UNGULATES

The Merkle Research Group is looking for a highly motivated, creative, and quantitative M.S. or Ph.D. student to lead a project studying how ungulates use and rely on mesic habitats, as well as studying how to prioritize mesic habitat restoration to benefit ungulate populations. 

The project is a collaboration between Working Lands for Wildlife, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and University of Wyoming. The student will have the opportunity to shape their specific research questions accordingly. The research will primarily rely on previously collected GPS collar and remote sensing data related to mesic areas (see https://www.mesic.app/), and the position will have a heavy emphasis on data analytics over field work.

 

DEADLINE: OCTOBER 5, 2026.

Guardians of the Grasslands

MEET SIX OF THE RANCHERS SAVING THE GREAT PLAINS

Even though America has some of the most intact grasslands left in the world, each year we lose another 1 million acres of grasslands, mainly to cropland conversion and encroaching trees.

 

More than 95% of America’s grasslands are privately owned, which means grassland conservation can't happen without partnerships between landowners and entities like the NRCS. 

 

Fortunately, ranching and healthy prairies go hand in hand. Livestock like cattle and sheep graze on native plants, keeping grasslands productive and providing habitat for wildlife. Ranchers steward the land and water and provide America with meat and other resources like leather and wool.

 

Hear from 6 ranchers from across the Great Plains who are working with the NRCS to maintain healthy grasslands and healthy herds. 

Grasses Grasses Everywhere And Not A Bite To Eat

Check out this article in the August 2026 edition of Wyoming Wildlife magazine from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department featuring Wind River/Bighorn Basin District Invasive Annual Grass Coordinator Nancy Fleming. The article dives into how invasive annual grasses are impacting mule deer in Wyoming and what partners are doing about it. Thanks to the Intermountain West Joint Venture for helping get this great story published and for allowing us to share it. 

The 2026 Economic Impact Study of the Spring Wildlife Migration on Central Nebraska

The Audubon Society recently released a study that measured the annual economic impact of Sandhill Crane migration across 14 Nebraska counties, including both economic activity and jobs supported by conservation efforts and visitor spending. They found a total impact of $28 million, a substantial boost to local economies, and a doubling of the impact from 2017 when the last study was conducted. Research like this highlights how protecting wildlife corridors, native habitat, and healthy grasslands has real economic benefits for local communities. 

Smithsonian Magazine: Bird Photographer Of The Year Winners 

We're big fans of photography and love annual wildlife photo contests, especially bird-focused ones. So, we're thrilled to share this write up from the Smithsonian Magazine about the 2026 Bird Photographer of the Year winners. One of our favorite birds made the list as the winner of the portrait category...but you'll have to click the link above to find out which one! 

The Working Lands for Wildlife partnership supports the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service's premier approach for conserving America's working lands to benefit people, wildlife, and rural communities. In the West, WLFW is guided by two, action-based frameworks for conservation. The framework approach is designed to increase conservation and restoration of rangelands by addressing major threats to rangeland health and through the implementation of conservation measures that limit soil disturbance, support sustainable grazing management, promote the strategic use of prescribed fire, and support native grassland species. Together, the frameworks leverage the power of voluntary, win-win conservation solutions to benefit people and wildlife from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

Manage your preferences | Opt Out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.