Maps of habitat suitability improvement potential for the Poncha Pass Gunnison Sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) satellite population in Southwestern Colorado

Dates

Publication Date: 2024-08-26
Time Period: 2022-03-01

Citation

Shyvers, J.E., Van Schmidt, N.D., Saher, J., Heinrichs, J.A., O'Donnell, M.S., and Aldridge, C.L., 2024, Maps of habitat suitability improvement potential for the Gunnison Sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) satellite populations in Southwestern Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9VBT1ER.

Summary

Habitat restoration efforts to conserve wildlife species are often conducted along a range of local site conditions, with limited information available to gauge relative outcomes for habitat suitability among sites and identify those that may lead to the greatest returns on restoration investment. We leveraged existing resource selection function models to generate heatmaps of spatially varying habitat suitability improvement potential for the Gunnison Sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) based on a suite of habitat restoration actions deployed across crucial habitats within six remaining satellite populations. We first simulated expected change in model covariates (habitat features) from a suite of restoration actions (increasing sagebrush, [...]

Summary

Habitat restoration efforts to conserve wildlife species are often conducted along a range of local site conditions, with limited information available to gauge relative outcomes for habitat suitability among sites and identify those that may lead to the greatest returns on restoration investment. We leveraged existing resource selection function models to generate heatmaps of spatially varying habitat suitability improvement potential for the Gunnison Sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) based on a suite of habitat restoration actions deployed across crucial habitats within six remaining satellite populations. We first simulated expected change in model covariates (habitat features) from a suite of restoration actions (increasing sagebrush, herbaceous, or litter cover, non-sagebrush shrub management, installation of mesic improvement structures, and removal of invasive plants) to generate modified input layers for each. We then reran the original models using these modified layers and calculated the predicted change in habitat suitability across space. The resulting heatmaps identify areas with the greatest improvement potential for each restoration action to help guide strategic restoration planning for the species.

This data release, for the Poncha Pass satellite population, includes a set of 13 total raster files. These include: 6 uncategorized heatmaps illustrating predicted change in Gunnison Sage-grouse habitat suitability across space following habitat restoration actions (either single or combined), 6 categorized heatmaps additionally showing areas where 1) new habitat was created, 2) non-habitat remained non-habitat despite management interventions, or 3) negative changes in suitability were observed, and 1 heatmap illustrating predicted changes in suitability following new or worsening plant invasions (cheatgrass, represented by annual herbaceous). Habitat restorations vary by population depending on the reference model. We only ran management action simulations when the reference model had covariates suitable for the simulation (for example, pinyon juniper removal was only run when pinyon juniper was a covariate; See Saher and others (2022) for model details).

Raster file names are coded as follows:

PPb = Poncha Pass Breeding
PPs = Poncha Pass Summer

ahrb_rm = annual herbaceous removal (decrease in cover)
ahrb_inv = annual herbaceous invasion (increase in cover)
combo = combined actions
mes_impr = mesic improvements (increase in area)
pns_decr = decrease non-sagebrush shrub cover
pns_incr = increase non-sagebrush shrub cover

C = CATEGORIZED Maps
V = UNCATEGORIZED Maps
X = INVASION (categorized) Maps

Contacts

Point of Contact :: Cameron L Aldridge, U.S. Geological Survey, ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
Originator :: Jessica E. Shyvers, Nathan D. Van Schmidt, Dorothy (Joanne) Saher, Julie A Heinrichs, Michael S O'Donnell, Cameron L Aldridge
Publisher :: GS ScienceBase
Metadata Contact :: Fort Data Management
SDC Data Owner :: Fort Collins Science Center
USGS Mission Area :: Ecosystems
Distributor :: U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase

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Poncha_Pass_Metadata_05142024.xml Original FGDC Metadata	View	53.7 KB	application/fgdc+xml
PPb_ahrb_invX.tif		15.06 KB	image/geotiff
PPb_ahrb_rmC.tif		40.54 KB	image/geotiff
PPb_ahrb_rmV.tif		49.94 KB	image/geotiff
PPb_combo_C.tif		38.21 KB	image/geotiff
PPb_combo_V.tif		50.85 KB	image/geotiff
PPb_mes_imprC.tif		29.39 KB	image/geotiff
PPb_mes_imprV.tif		29.3 KB	image/geotiff
PPb_pns_decrC.tif		31.16 KB	image/geotiff
PPb_pns_decrV.tif		33.92 KB	image/geotiff
PPb_pns_incrC.tif		37.72 KB	image/geotiff
PPb_pns_incrV.tif		46.95 KB	image/geotiff
PPs_mes_imprC.tif		23.91 KB	image/geotiff
PPs_mes_imprV.tif		25.57 KB	image/geotiff
FINAL_Universal_CATEGORIZED_Change_Maps.lyrx		7.38 KB	text/plain
FINAL_Universal_INVASION_Change_Maps.lyrx		7 KB	text/plain
FINAL_Universal_VALUE_Change_Maps.lyrx		7.73 KB	text/plain

Related External Resources

Type: Publication that references this resource

Shyvers, J. E., N. D. Van Schmidt, J. Saher, J. A. Heinrichs, M. S. O’Donnell, and C. L. Aldridge. 2024. Leveraging local habitat suitability models to enhance restoration benefits for species of conservation concern. Biodiversity and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-024-02886-x	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-024-02886-x

Purpose

The heatmaps generated illustrate spatial variation in the potential for habitat restoration actions, aimed at benefiting Gunnison Sage-grouse, to improve habitat suitability across the Poncha Pass satellite population. They are intended to be used in combination with local knowledge and expertise to identify priority areas for deploying limited management resources, thereby serving as valuable decision-support tools to guide strategic restoration planning efforts for recovery of the species.

Maps of habitat suitability improvement potential for the Poncha Pass Gunnison Sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) satellite population in Southwestern Colorado

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