Wildlife Conservation Through Sustainable Ranching
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NEW RESOURCE ALERT:
Reducing Conifer Encroachment in Western Rangelands
Technical and Pocket Guide
INTRODUCING WLFW'S LATEST SCIENCE-BACKED RESOURCES FOR ADDRESSING THE SECOND-LEADING CAUSE OF SAGEBRUSH DEGRADATION
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Conifer encroachment—also referred to as woody encroachment or tree expansion—threatens millions of acres of western rangelands by fundamentally altering ecosystems that support rural livelihoods and wildlife habitat. Since 1990, tree expansion has resulted in more than $5 billion in lost forage production across the western U.S., while degrading habitat for species like sage grouse, mule deer, and pronghorn. Without intervention, these gradual but compounding changes lead to costly, and often irreversible, ecosystem transitions.
Geographically specific and science-informed management strategies are critical to addressing this threat. Today, land managers and conservation practitioners working in Wyoming, Montana, the western Dakotas, and adjacent states have two new resources to address conifer encroachment on grasslands and shrublands: the Reducing Conifer Encroachment in Western Rangelands technical guide and companion pocket guide.
Produced by Working Lands for Wildlife, in partnership with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, these resources help rangeland practitioners, land managers, and landowners identify early-stage conifer encroachment. They also detail proactive, region-specific treatment approaches and prioritization strategies designed to prevent ecosystem losses before they become costly or irreversible.
Specifically, the guides include detailed information that empowers practitioners to:
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Prioritize strategically using a science-based framework that focuses resources where they’ll have maximum impact—protecting intact rangeland cores before they’re invaded.
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Recognize region-specific patterns through detailed scenarios of how different conifer species encroach across diverse landscape settings, from badlands to mountain meadows.
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Detect encroachment early using both cutting-edge remote sensing tools and field-based methods to identify invasion before it becomes visible and costly.
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Design effective treatments by matching appropriate tools and techniques to specific stages of encroachment, from monitoring seed-dispersal zones to managing established woodlands.
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Build collaborative solutions that work across property boundaries, recognizing that conifer seeds don’t respect fence lines.
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Eastern WLFW "Beyond the Bobwhite" Webinar
MARCH WEBINAR HIGHLIGHTS CONSERVATION BENEFITS BEYOND BOBWHITE QUAIL
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Join WLFW in the East on Thursday, March 12 at 11:30 a.m. CT for "Beyond the Bobwhite," a live Zoom webinar presented by Clint Johnson with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
This session highlights how habitat management practices discussed throughout this series benefit a wide variety of wildlife species beyond northern bobwhite quail, demonstrating the broader impact of conservation on working lands.
Register here or use the QR code in the graphic to sign up, and view past recorded webinars in the WLFW Conservation Webinar Series.
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| Upcoming Virtual and In-field Invasive Grass Trainings
JOIN IMAGINE IN APRIL AND JUNE FOR VIRTUAL AND IN-FIELD TRAININGS
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IMAGINE - the Institute for Managing Annual Grasses Invading Natural Ecosystems - is hosting two upcoming events, a virtual workshop in April and an in-field training in June in Idaho.
Virtual Workshop - April 8, 2026, Zoom
This workshop will highlight new research, tools, and tactics, including mule deer interactions with invasive annual grasses, updates on mapping tools and emerging management approaches such as Indaziflam and soil amendments.
In-field Workshop - June 16-17, Idaho Falls, ID
This two-day workshop is designed to take an in depth look at how you can apply a set of principles and tools to strategically manage IAGs in Eastern Idaho.
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Kansas Grazing Lands Issue Brief
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A 2026 ISSUE BRIEF FROM KANSAS ELEVATES THE VALUE OF GRASSLANDS TO AGRICULTURE AND THE PUBLIC; PRIORITIZES ACTIONS TO CONSERVE THESE GRASSLANDS BEFORE THEY DISAPPEAR
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Kansas holds some of the last great grasslands on earth. Nearly one-third of this Great Plains state, or 15.8 million acres, is covered by prairies. This includes iconic, economically productive regions like the Flint Hills, Smoky Hills, Gypsum Hills and High Plains.
Privately owned grasslands are the backbone of the Kansas’ beef industry, the state’s largest agricultural sector. Plus, these grasslands safeguard the state’s water and soils, provide wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities.
A new issue brief from the Kansas Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts warns that these working prairies are disappearing at an alarming rate.
The report outlines specific action steps to stem grassland loss and conserve Kansas’ vital grazing resources. It also serves as a broader call to action for other states across America’s Great Plains, one of the most threatened and least protected ecosystems on the planet.
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New Research Highlights Benefits of Low-tech, Process-based Restoration
FINDINGS SHOW IMPROVED SOIL MOISTURE AND LESS BARE GROUND
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In the arid West, water is precious and mesic restoration is an important restoration strategy. A team from South Dakota State examined how beaver dam analogs (BDAs) and post-assisted log structures benefited working landscapes. These low tech restoration techniques are championed by WLFW across the West and were directly supported by WLFW in the study area.
Results demonstrated that BDAs can create significant short-term (<3 years) differences in riparian systems within livestock settings of the Northern Great Plains, particularly when looking at soil moisture. In addition, subtle, positive changes can be seen in plant community response to BDAs installation.
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| Mule Deer, Changing Landscapes, and What We Can Do
THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST JOINT VENTURE BREAKS DOWN RECENT MULE DEER RESEARCH FROM WY
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Working landscapes are critical to the West's economies and wildlife. The conditions that support healthy habitat—intact shrublands, productive agriculture, resilient forests, and reliable water—also support wildlife and sustain ranching, farming, and outdoor traditions like hunting and recreation. Understanding how these shared landscapes are changing can inform conservation decisions and actions that benefit people and wildlife.
In this great post, the IWJV discusses this new research with experts from across Wyoming and sagebrush country, highlighting how healthy working lands help boost mule deer populations.
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USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting offers for Continuous CRP starting Feb. 12, 2026, through March 20, 2026. Enrollment for General CRP will run from March 9, 2026, through April 17, 2026.
FSA will announce dates for Grassland CRP signup in the near future.
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Big congratulations to Dr. Kirk Davies, a research scientist with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service and a frequent WLFW collaborator, who was awarded the W.R. Chapline Land Research Award at the recent Society for Range Management conference. The award gives special recognition to members of the Society for exceptional and sustained research accomplishments in range science and associated disciplines.
You can watch a video about Dr. Davies' accomplishments and learn why he deserved this award at the link in the title above.
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Join the new Pinyon-Juniper Management Network, a collaborative, interdisciplinary community of land managers, tribal partners, researchers, and policymakers. Through regular workshops, field tours, and virtual meetings, the group facilitates knowledge exchange, addressing challenges such as fire risk, drought, woodland expansion, wildlife habitat, climate resilience, and more.
The network connects practitioners in all pinyon-juniper landscapes across the pinyon-juniper woodland biome to build shared understanding and foster co-produced solutions through collaborative platforms hosted by Intermountain West Joint Venture and the Ecological Restoration Institute.
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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.
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