Filters: Contacts: Steve Torbit (X)
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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...
Categories: Data,
Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: Datasets/Database,
Project,
SA Science Catalog,
Sagebrush,
USFWS Science Applications Science Catalog,
Covering 120 million acres across 14 western states and 3 Canadian provinces, sagebrush provides critical habitat for species such as pronghorn, mule deer, and sage-grouse – a species of conservation concern. The future of these and other species is closely tied to the future of sagebrush. Yet this important ecosystem has already been affected by fire, invasive species, land use conversion, and now, climate change. In the western U.S., temperatures are rising and precipitation patterns are changing. However, there is currently a limited ability to anticipate the impacts of climate change on sagebrush. Current methods suffer from a range of weakness that limits the reliability of results. In fact, the current uncertainty...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: 2015,
CASC,
Completed,
Landscapes,
Landscapes,
We propose to evaluate reproductive vital rates of sagebrush songbirds in relation to key aspects of local climate. To accomplish this we will leverage several large existing datasets of nesting observations from over six thousand nests across multiple years and sites, archived weather station data (temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity), and gridded climate datasets (e.g., PRISM). To further examine whether particular landscapes and/or microhabitats may confer more protection in the face of increasingly more extreme weather events (e.g., high temperatures and drought) expected with climate change, we will incorporate habitat data collected remotely and at nests into climatic response models. Finally,...
Categories: Data,
Project;
Tags: Contractual Document,
Project,
SA Science Catalog,
Sagebrush,
USFWS Science Applications Science Catalog,
The overall objective of this work is to understand how changing climate and associated ecohydrological conditions will impact the distribution of sagebrush ecosystems over the next century. This study will provide valuable insight into the vulnerability of sagebrush ecosystems to changes in climate, climate variability, and disturbance regime. This work utilizes the best currently available downscaled climate data (Maurer) and builds upon recent published results. Products from this project will provide wildlife managers with the ability to categorize and prioritize areas based on their probability of being capable of supporting sagebrush ecosystems in the future, information that is crucial for upcoming listing...
Categories: Data,
Project;
Tags: Project,
SA Science Catalog,
Sagebrush,
USFWS Science Applications Science Catalog,
completed,
In partnership with WAFWA MDWG and many participating western states, we propose the following three-pronged plan:1) Develop a standalone program which simplifies the technologically challenging analyses outlined in Sawyer et al. (2009b) into a user-friendly software add-on that can be implemented by biologists and managers using their own GPS collar data. 2) Work with biologists and managers of state agencies to analyze mule deer data sets. Specifically, using the program outlined in objective 1, we will assess the broad applicability of the analysis methods to identify migration corridors. This step will include the development of a list of key issues and considerations for analyzing these types of data in addition...
Categories: Data,
Project;
Tags: Project,
SA Science Catalog,
Sagebrush,
USFWS Science Applications Science Catalog,
Website,
Big sagebrush plant communities are important and widespread in western North America and are crucial for meeting long-term conservation goals for greater sage-grouse and other wildlife of conservation concern. Yet wildfire is increasing in the West, turning biodiverse, shrub-based ecosystems dominated by sagebrush into grasslands containing invasive species such as cheatgrass and less overall plant and animal diversity. These transformations negatively impact people and ecosystems by reducing habitat quality for wildlife and the aesthetic value of the landscape. Understanding how sagebrush communities are already responding and will continue to respond to changes in wildfire, invasive species, and climate is...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: 2018,
CASC,
Completed,
Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather,
Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather,
A survey was developed to query sagebrush conservation practitioners to identify social networks, connections, and barriers. It was piloted with 13 advisory team members from state and federal agencies and NGOs, then distributed to a “master list” of 698 individuals identified through iterative polling efforts. The response rate for full surveys was 28%, quite good. The survey revealed 2015 network connections among 509 organizations and agencies working in sagebrush conservation. Work is ongoing to conduct a descriptive network analysis with whole network statistics and node level metrics and to develop the latent structure of the “dimensions of a learning organization” and modeling relationships between network...
Categories: Data,
Project;
Tags: Project,
SA Science Catalog,
Sagebrush,
USFWS Science Applications Science Catalog,
completed,
We will use recently-developed models (see Hanser et al. 2011a) mapping the occurrence or abundance of six sagebrush obligate or near-obligate species of conservation concern (four songbirds, one reptile, and one mammal). We will evaluate how important habitats for each species overlap with similarly developed sage-grouse habitat occurrence models (Hanser et al. 2011b), as well as how sage-grouse priority habitats overlap with biodiversity hotspots for the other sagebrush species. This project will evaluate the degree to which sage-grouse conservation can act as an umbrella for other sagebrush dependent species within the Wyoming Basins ecoregion, the Utah-Wyoming-Rocky Mountain ecoregions in their entirety and...
Categories: Data,
Project;
Tags: Contractual Document,
Project,
SA Science Catalog,
Sagebrush,
USFWS Science Applications Science Catalog,
PI’s and student have compiled and coded an extensive literature review of social science in the sagebrush biome. They have also developed, piloted and refined a social science needs assessment survey which has been transmitted to over 600 stakeholders in the sagebrush system (identified through Patrick Bixler’s work). They are now planning to conduct focus sessions in 4 states they are focusing on (WY, CO, ID, and OR), with the intent to focus a significant portion of the focus group discussion on the ways in which social science can inform decision making for sagebrush management and conservation.
Categories: Data,
Project;
Tags: Project,
SA Science Catalog,
Sagebrush,
USFWS Science Applications Science Catalog,
completed,
This project expands upon a large, multi-agency collaborative study (Univ. of Idaho, Idaho Game and Fish, BLM, Great Basin LCC & two grazing Associations) evaluating the impacts of alternative grazing systems on sage-grouse over a 10-year period using a staggered entry BACI design. This project will evaluate the effects of grazing management prescriptions (intended to be compatible with greater sage-grouse) on other sagebrush-obligate or associated avian species. The results will contribute to an adaptive management process by: 1) assessing current state of populations of sagebrush-dependent birds as well as limiting factors, 2) compilation of models describing population-habitat relationships that can lead to species-habitat...
Categories: Data,
Project;
Tags: Contractual Document,
Project,
Report,
SA Science Catalog,
Sagebrush,
This proposal adds sagebrush and PJ dependent birds and small mammals to an ongoing collaborative (NDOW, USFWS, NPS) 4-year study entitled Measuring the regional impacts of pinyon and juniper removal on insect, bat, and reptile communities, examining the nontarget ecological impacts of pinyon and juniper (PJ) removal across the Great Basin ecosystem of northern Nevada. Using a BACI design, one study site is the Sheldon National Antelope Refuge.
Categories: Data,
Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: Project,
SA Science Catalog,
Sagebrush,
completed,
environment
The proposed research is a collaboration of DOI (USGS, BLM, USFWS), USDA (PNW, USFS), and state agencies. State Heritage and other Nongame Programs have already shared their data with us in preparation for this study. This includes almost all 11 western states (some states did not record reptile occurrences). In exchange for this information, we will be providing to the states: (1) comprehensive species occurrence data with data record corrections; (2) maps of lizard and snake hotspots within each state; and (3) spatial models of species occupancy, including predicted changes in distribution under future climate scenarios. We will work with state (fish and game, state lands) and federal (BLM, USFWS, USFS) partners...
Categories: Data,
Project;
Tags: Project,
Publication,
SA Science Catalog,
Sagebrush,
USFWS Science Applications Science Catalog,
The proposal seeks to optimize conservation investments through three large-landscape level objectives: 1) Identify multi-species overlap of sagebrush migratory corridors to directly target conservation opportunities using cultivation risk assessment models. 2) Test if hoofed (i.e. pronghorn) and feathered (i.e. grassland birds, waterfowl) species can be managed under the Greater Sage-grouse umbrella. First, model seasonal range selection of pronghorn and then develop a multi-species decision support tool usingoverlaid seasonal range and migratory pathways to target management tools and conservation opportunities. 3) Test fencing effects on multi-species seasonal range and migratory pathways to target priority areas...
Categories: Data,
Project;
Tags: Project,
Publication,
SA Science Catalog,
Sagebrush,
Sagebrush Ecosystem,
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