Predicted Pinyon Jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) densities across the western United States, 2008-2020

Management intended to benefit a target species may also affect non-target species that co-occur over space and time. Pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) populations experienced long-term declines and rely on habitat that could be lost to conifer removal programs for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). Using 13 years of point count data (2008-2020) collected across the western United States and a suite of relevant covariates for habitat, we fit a hierarchical model to characterize and predict pinyon jay densities and evaluate population trends. The resulting maps include pinyon jay density at the beginning (PIJA_2008_PredictedDensity.tif) and end (PIJA_2020_PredictedDensity.tif) of our study period, a map depicting [...]