Recipient Organization
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
CORVALLIS,OR 97331
Performing Department
Animal and Rangeland Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems in western North America are considered one of the most imperiled ecosystems in the world. Currently, only half of the historic distribution of sagebrush land cover persists. Along with the conversion of landscapes from natural sagebrush ecosystems to agricultural lands, Euro-American settlement has resulted in an influx of exotic plant species. Countless acres within sagebrush ecosystems have been compromised by the presence of exotic plants that reduce primary productivity. Invasive grasses have increased risk for wildfire, which sagebrush ecosystems are generally not well-adapted. Juxtaposed to the threat of exotic plants with too frequent fire cycles, fire suppression has led to increases in conifer encroachment into western sagebrush ecosystems. It is difficult to determine which conservation actions are best to improve ecosystem function for sagebrush landscapes when considering the conundrum of too much current fire with exotic fuel with too little historic fire.In eastern portions of the sagebrush biome, a different set of threats predominate. As commodity prices increase private sagebrush lands are at increased risk to conversion to cultivated croplands. Additionally, energy development is a threat as oil and natural gas resources are abundant throughout much of the area. Infrastructural support for energy extraction (e.g., roads, powerlines, associated traffic), leads to fragmentation and direct loss of sagebrush habitats. Renewable energy, such as wind power, can also result in the disturbance and loss of sagebrush habitats and is an increasing threat primarily in eastern, but also throughout, sagebrush ecosystems.Much of the remaining sagebrush biome consists of working agricultural lands, and is predominantly used for grazing of domestic livestock.Interestingly, evidence is mounting that the drivers of ecological function in this ecosystem are not only beneficial to wildlife resources but have shared values with sustainable agricultural practices. Recent unprecedented conservation efforts put forth to ensure long-term population viability of obligate sagebrush species such as sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), present a unique opportunity to evaluate both the biological and socio-economic outcomes of sagebrush conservation actions at a continental scale.The fate of greater sage-grouse, an endemic and obligate of the sagebrush ecosystem, and other sagebrush-obligate wildlife are directly linked to sagebrush. As sagebrush has been lost or degraded, the distribution and abundance of these species have diminished. Sage-grouse are considered an umbrella species for sagebrush ecosystems, because their life-history requires a heterogeneous landscape of sagebrush species and habitat structure. A variety of sagebrush structure types are necessary for concealing and incubating nests, providing available forage in deep snow, or more open canopy mesic areas for young chicks. Thus, landscapes that contain all of these components are not only beneficial to sage-grouse, but provide resources for other sagebrush-obligate and dependent species. Additionally, ecosystem services provided by intact and healthy sagebrush systems benefit society as well as these important species.This project aims to provide research and Extension products across the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem to inform multiple stakeholders, including the public, industry, policy makers, and state and federal agencies. The intent of this project is to relate current work from multiple researchers into a cohesive body of knowledge regarding mutual benefits of conservation of sagebrush ecosystems for rural communities and sagebrush-obligate wildlife. My lab will be providing and generating data on sage-grouse and sagebrush-obligate songbirds from Oregon and Wyoming. Current research products from my lab will come from collaborative projects, two PhD dissertations, and four Master's theses. These projects will produce multiple peer-reviewed manuscripts, outreach presentations, and OSU Extension products/presentations.
Animal Health Component
40%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
40%
Developmental
20%
Goals / Objectives
Prioritize threats to sagebrush systems and construct a prioritization framework Threats to sagebrush systems result in a loss of ecosystem services for dependent species and local communities throughout the West. We synthesized existing threat frameworks from organizations involved in sagebrush ecosystem conservation, focusing on threats to the sagebrush system and dependent species. Natural variation in the ecology of the sagebrush biome influences type and intensity of the threats.Sagebrush Ecosystem Threats Framework: â¿¢ Invasive Weeds/Grass and Wildfire â¿¢ Sagebrush Alteration â¿¢ Cultivation â¿¢ Sagebrush Removal â¿¢ Loss of Mesic Areas â¿¢ Conifer Expansion â¿¢ Human Use & Development â¿¢ Energy Extraction â¿¢ Urban Development â¿¢ Mining â¿¢ Recreation â¿¢ Improper Grazing â¿¢ Inappropriate Livestock Grazing â¿¢ Free-Roaming Equids
Our sub-objectives are to:
1.1. Combine existing data from multiple institutions to enhance collaboration improving inference on social/ecological issues,
1.2. Integrate socio-ecological sciences to assess consequences of threats (real and perceived),
1.3. Prioritize and compare threats by ecological and social frameworks,
1.4. Evaluate the socio-ecological outcomes of threat reduction,
1.5. Develop a framework to resolve differences in ecological and social threat prioritization,
1.6. Create a common data collection framework to facilitate regional assessment.
Evaluate links between land management and health of rural communities in the sagebrush biome. A perception in many rural communities is that the conservation of threatened and endangered species does not adequately consider the impact on local land use or economies (Public Lands Council, 2017). An example of such conflict is the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Land Use Plans (LUPs) developed in response to proposed listing of greater sage-grouse. Recently, collaborative groups have arisen in several locations to provide input on land management decisions. Many social and economic forces are transforming the economies and structure of rural communities in the West such as mineral and energy extraction. The economic impacts of federal management decisions regarding natural resources significantly influence the businesses and individuals in the surrounding communities. These linkages mean that resource production generates jobs and income not only in the agriculture sector but also in other sectors in the local economy that support natural resource sector or serve employee households. Previous studies have failed to implement integrated approaches that contextualize social behaviors and attitudes within social-ecological systems as complex adaptive systems.
We seek to:
2.1 Understand the dynamics of economic drivers upon conservation and socioeconomic communities,
2.2 Identify the means to build social and ecological capital to enable effective conservation of sagebrush and rural communities,
2.3 Evaluate the effectiveness of collaboration and local working groups in these processes.
Engage local communities in research and outreach Engagement implies a dialogue between researchers and stakeholders. Results from integrated research on threats and consequences to sagebrush and human communities and the links between sagebrush land management and the health of rural communities must be communicated to key stakeholders to be meaningful. In addition, listening to those stakeholders on their concerns, issues, solutions, and alternatives will inform researchers as to the important questions to address. In both cases, education about science, values, and culture will occur in all directions.
Our sub-objectives are to:
3.1. Provide land and wildlife management agencies with factsheets and presentation that summarize the relationship between ecological outcomes of land management actions to socio-economic consequences.
3.2. Produce outreach materials that clearly communicate how the ecological threats to sagebrush systems can have impacts on local and state socio-economic.
Project Methods
Prioritize threats to sagebrush systems and construct a prioritization frameworkIdentify existing, relevant, and accessible datasets at collaborative universities and other institutions that can be integrated. My lab will be integrating data from Oregon State University. Develop hypotheses along with appropriate analyses and then utilize datasets to produce scientific information. Identify opportunities within datasets to integrate social, economic, and ecological data that can be used for analyses. Combine broad-scale interstate datasets and develop collaborations within areas of expertise, i.e., social, economic, and ecological, to fill specific knowledge gaps. An example includes combining radio-marked sage-grouse location, habitat, and demographic data across state boarders and multiple universities and develop questions that can be addressed with existing data.We will work with stakeholders to develop measurable indicators (e.g., social, economic, or ecological) to quantify the outcomes of proposed threat reduction strategies. Science-based economic and modeling frameworks will be developed to estimate potential impacts and trade-offs of proposed actions to mitigate threats. Use of existing and novel data sets will be critical in measuring and evaluating overall changes to the system from the baseline.Projected outcomes of threat reduction strategies will be mapped using a procudtion possibilities frontier to evaluate trade-offs among these indicators of alternative mitigation strategies.We will rank each threat to the sagebrush ecosystem in terms of negative impacts on ecological and socioeconomic factors. Ranking each threat in terms of level of impact will identify the threats that are common across socio-ecological factors and those that only impact a sub-set of the factors. Further, we will analyze these rankings across threats that are likely to be reduced by human intervention. We will also measure how threat reduction improves each of the impacts to our socio-ecological factors of interest. By doing so we will be able to identify which threats can/should be reduced, and prioritize efforts to those have the greatest impact either in terms of overall benefit or benefits to specific factors of interest. We will also be able to identify perceived threats that are expected to have minimal real negative consequences.Engage local communities in research and outreachThe team will actively engage stakeholders within the rural communities during the relevant phases of research activities. Initially this will be in areas where active field research is being planned and conducted. We will meet with key stakeholders such as private and public land management agencies, state and federal wildlife agencies, county and community government, and interest groups. Once the research is underway, we will continue to engage those groups and others to ensure a transparent and mutually beneficial outcome.We will work to develop a citizen-science component to our research if the opportunity becomes available. Ideas may be solicited from the community as to the need and practicality of implementation. These kinds of activities can provide a sense of ownership by the community in the research and provide researchers with resources they may not otherwise have.