Wildlife Conservation Through Sustainable Ranching

Science Helps Balance Sage Grouse and Pinyon Jay Management

NEW RESEARCH SUPPORTS CONSERVATION PLANNING TO BENEFIT BOTH SAGEBRUSH AND WOODLAND BIRDS OF CONSERVATION CONCERN

Pinyon-juniper woodlands have always been part of the fabric of western landscapes. Historically, these woodlands were restricted primarily to areas where grassy fuels were limited. Periodic fire, and occasionally severe drought, killed trees and maintained a balance of grasslands, shrublands, and woodlands. However, altered fire regimes have allowed more trees to establish and grow, spread by seeds that are dispersed by birds and small mammals.

Tree encroachment into formerly treeless shrublands has proven particularly impactful to unique wildlife species like sage grouse, who completely avoid otherwise suitable habitat when only a few trees break up large expanses of sagebrush. Many other sagebrush-dependent wildlife as well, notably songbirds like sagebrush sparrow and sage thrasher, are in this same predicament. They have all experienced steep populations declines as their expansive and open rangelands have been converted to savannas or even woodland forests.

However, other wildlife rely on pinyon-juniper woodlands for their survival.  Most species of woodland-dependent birds have benefited from a century of tree expansion, and their populations have remained steady or grown with increasing woodlands. For example, abundance measurements for gray flycatcher, a species that breeds in pinyon-juniper woodlands in the Intermountain West and the Great Basin, have risen roughly 50% over the last 50 years.

One main, and critically important, exception to this is the pinyon jay, a songbird that depends on pinyon-juniper woodlands. Pinyon jays have experienced significant population declines in recent decades, which has generated strong interest in conserving pinyon jay populations. However, there are significant gaps in knowledge regarding pinyon jays, how they use pinyon-juniper woodlands, why their populations are declining even as woodlands continue to expand, and how conifer removal may impact them.

Two recently published papers help fill in these knowledge gaps and highlight that there are vast amounts of sagebrush country where, with science-backed and spatially informed conservation planning, we can restore sagebrush country while also balancing the needs of woodland obligates.

Explore the latest science and learn more from lead researchers in the articles below.

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Ask an Expert

HEAR FROM THE RESEARCHERS

We sat down with the lead authors of both papers – Jason Tack, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Jason Reinhardt, a research forester with the U.S. Forest Service – to better understand if and how conifer management in sagebrush country can benefit both sage grouse and pinyon jays.

Publication Alert

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PAPERS

Both of the recently released papers reveal most conifer removal in sagebrush country is already avoiding pinyon jay strongholds. But, additional targeting can further optimize range management to benefit both species. Read the papers' abstracts and find links to both open-access papers here.

NRCS Great Plains Leadership Featured on Cattlemen to Cattlemen Show TONIGHT on RFD-TV

PANEL DISCUSSES HOW NRCS PROGRAMS ARE HELPING PRODUCERS FIGHT BACK AGAINST WOODY ENCROACHMENT

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association's flagship TV show, Cattlemen to Cattlemen, recently aired a panel of NRCS leaders from the four states with Great Plains Grassland Initiative efforts (KS, NE, SD, OK). The panel discusses how the NRCS is helping producers in these states address woody plant encroachment. The segment is available on C2C's YouTube Channel and will re-air TONIGHT (5/30) on RFD-TV at 8:30 PM Eastern/7:30 PM Central. 

Working Lands for Wildlife Team Releases Annual Herbaceous Cover Data for 2020-2022

UPDATED DATA SET HELPS INFORM AND IMPROVE SEVERAL WESTERN INVASIVE ANNUAL GRASS EFFORTS

As a continued "super user" of the Rangeland Analysis Platform, WLFW researchers recently released an updated annual herbaceous cover data for western rangelands using satellite data from 2020-2022. The updated layer helps advance spatial planning, prioritization, and coordination for several efforts aimed at addressing the threat of invasive annual grasses in the western U.S., including Idaho’s Cheatgrass Challenge, Oregon’s SageCon Partnership, and the Western Governors Association’s Toolkit for Managing Invasive Annual Grasses in the West. This updated product reports annual herbaceous cover by integrating RAP cover data from 2020 - 2022. Data coverage includes all rangelands within the U.S. sagebrush biome. 

The goal of the annual herbaceous cover map is to support a common spatial strategy for tackling invasive annual grasses across the western U.S. As with all remote sensing-based products, the data is best implemented alongside local knowledge and data. The map is intended to facilitate cross-boundary regional planning, and it is anticipated that state and local partners will further refine priority areas for management using additional information.

WLFW Bulletin

Find more news and resources at WLFW.org

USDA Unveils Effort to Streamline Agricultural Conservation Easement Program

The USDA is streamlining its Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) to ultimately better help agricultural producers and private landowners conserve wetlands, productive farmlands and at-risk grasslands. pecifically, NRCS is updating its processes around appraisals, land surveys, as well as certifying eligible entities who help NRCS and producers enroll land into easements. These changes are for ACEP Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) as well as Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE). Easements are a critical tool that WLFW uses to help conserve working rangelands, keep native range intact, and bolster wildlife habitat.

Changing a Landscape to a Lifescape Film Wins Award from W. Division American Fisheries Society

Congratulations to Carol Evans and the team at Little Wild for winning the top film of the 2023 Western Division American Fisheries Society Film and Photography Festival. The film, which WLFW supported, was a hit with both festival goers and the festival jury. Check out our Ask an Expert with Carol Evans and Sherm Swanson that talks about the riparian grazing techniques featured in the film here.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Availability of $500 Million for Improved Regional Conservation Partnership Program to Better Support Partners, Producers

The RCPP leverages a voluntary approach to conservation that expands the reach of conservation efforts and climate-smart agriculture through public-private partnerships. Increased funding for fiscal year 2023 is made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, and this year’s funding opportunity reflects a concerted effort to streamline and simplify the program. Program improvements will enable USDA to efficiently implement the $4.95 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding for the program while improving the experience for partners, agricultural producers, and employees.  

Conserving an Ocean of Grass and Sage

Check out this great post from the Intermountain West Joint Venture that highlights how in  Montana, funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is expanding the scale of conservation to whole landscapes. The partnership is led by the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, a longtime WLFW partner. The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance is currently working with the USFWS to invest Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to expand conservation planning and investment efforts to a scale that befits the vastness of this landscape.

Short Film - Our Amazing Grasslands, Dutton Family Ranch, South Dakota

The Our Amazing Grasslands series of videos are produced by the South Dakota Grasslands Coalition and feature producers in South Dakota each month. This episode features the Dutton Family and highlights the family's focus on managing their landscape to benefit wildlife through managed grazing and how the family has worked to pass the ranch on to future generations. 

NRCS Delivering Climate Solutions through the Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provides $19.5 billion from fiscal years 2023 to 2027 for climate smart agriculture through several of the conservation programs that USDA’s NRCS implements. Last February, NRCS announced it was making $850 million of those funds available in fiscal year 2023 for its oversubscribed conservation programs – the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

Why Birds and Their Songs are Good for our Mental Health

This Washington Post article highlights recent research showing that simply listening to recordings of bird songs can reduce negative emotions and boost overall health. The article also offers tips on how to "get the most of of birds" when it comes to improving mental and physical health.

Agriculture and Interior Departments Invest $2.8 Billion to Improve Public Lands Access and Support Conservation Efforts Across the United States

The Departments of Agriculture and the Interior announced a proposed $2.8 billion in funding for fiscal year 2024 authorized by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) to improve infrastructure, recreation facilities, federal lands access, and land and water conservation.

Enacted in August 2020, GAOA established the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund, authorizing up to $1.9 billion per year, from fiscal years 2021 through 2025 to reduce the deferred maintenance backlog on federal lands and at Bureau of Indian Education schools.

Visit Interior’s GAOA project page and the USDA Forest Service’s GAOA story map to see the difference these projects are making for local communities by improving access and outdoor recreation opportunities across federal lands.

Working Lands for Wildlife is the 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.

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