Skip to main content

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Legacy Region 6, Science Applications

thumbnail
Effect of conifer treatments and landscape management on sagebrush obligate songbirds and Pinyon Jays in the Great Basin
Conifer removal and management is a key tool for restoring sagebrush ecosystems and Greater Sage-Grouse populations, though the response of other sagebrush-obligate birds, including Pinyon Jays, to conifer management has not been well-studied. Quantifying the response of avian species to conifer management will inform conservation delivery to ensure that agencies achieve sagebrush bird and habitat objectives while minimizing impacts on Pinyon Jays in the sagebrush/pinon-juniper woodland ecotone. The results of this project will address key science needs on Pinyon Jays and directly inform more effective conifer management throughout the eastern Great Basin. Without these data, we will be unable to provide science-based...
thumbnail
Assessing annual grass management effectiveness in the sagebrush biome
Invasive annual grasses are a primary, severe, and challenging threat to habitat conservation and restoration for sage-dependent wildlife across federal, state and private lands. Successful management solutions for sagebrush rangelands are likely to be multiphasic, involving some sequence of interventions such as herbicides, seeding of competitive natives that also create habitat, and temporarily altering land use, in an adaptive-management approach. The proposed work tests different herbicides and options for applying them with different seeding and land uses, across a gradient of climate and soils in Interior Regions 5 and 7.This research will examine the efficacy of management options for controlling cheatgrass...
thumbnail
Designing Regional Fuel Breaks to Protect Large Remnant Tracts of Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat in Southern ID and OR, Northern and Central NV, and Northwestern UT (TNC)
a. Develop a regional map showing the highest probability pathways of wildfire spread under current conditions.b. Design regional networks of fuel breaks to reduce future wildfire size in large remnant tracts of priority GSG habitat. Networks will be designed by modeling fire spread with fuel breaks using Circuitscape (http://www.Circuitscape.org/), a wildlife connectivity software based on electrical circuit theory applied to a raster map, and consulting with agencies and tribes about regional priority habitats in southern ID and OR, northern NV,and northwestern UT.c. Deliver GIS layers and maps showing suggested networks of fuel breaks to federal and state agencies, and tribes. This will allow fire managers to...
thumbnail
Impacts of Conifer Removal on Sagebrush Songbirds
Conifer encroachment is one of the most significant threats to sagebrush habitats and the species that rely on them. Removal of encroaching conifers is beneficial for Greater Sage-Grouse, but impacts on other sagebrush-obligate species are not well understood. This project aims to quantify the impact of conifer removal on sagebrush songbird abundance and reproductive success. Work has been initiated through a previously-supported (by IR5/7 SA) Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit project across six conifer-removal and six conifer-remaining (control) plots of ca. 55 ha each. Initial results suggest that conifer removal benefits both abundance and nesting success of sagebrush-obligate species (Brewers Sparrows...
thumbnail
Wind River Tribal Engagement/Mule Deer Migration
The Wind River Reservation in Wyoming contains over 2 million acres of the best and most diverse and intact habitats in the contiguous US. It is home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes. In collaboration with Tribal Fish and Game, the USFWS Lander Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office and the USGS Wyoming Cooperative Research Unit, partners have been conducting an investigation of the migration patterns of 113 GPS-collared mule deer that began in 2018. As part of our SA diversity and inclusion efforts with a $60,500 investment, this project will extend the ongoing work and engage various segments of the tribal community in the research as a means to further understanding of fish and wildlife management...
View more...
ScienceBase brings together the best information it can find about USGS researchers and offices to show connections to publications, projects, and data. We are still working to improve this process and information is by no means complete. If you don't see everything you know is associated with you, a colleague, or your office, please be patient while we work to connect the dots. Feel free to contact sciencebase@usgs.gov.