USGS Sagebrush Ecosystem and Fire Science 2025 Webinar Series

The US Geological Survey Land Management Research Program and the Great Basin Fire Science Exchange teamed up to bring you updates in sagebrush, fire, and wildlife related research.

Dates, Topics, and Presentations:
1/30 – Sage-grouse, carbon topics
Webinar recording
Summary webpage
Program with speakers, talks, and resources 

1. Greater sage-grouse hierarchical population monitoring framework: Range-wide application of an early warning systems for populations at-risk – Coates, Weise et al.
2. Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation actions directed for greater sage-grouse using hierarchical models and the Conservation Efforts Database – Coates et al.
3. Greater sage-grouse range-wide seasonal habitat maps: Identifying regional thresholds and relationships between trends and seasonal habitat use – Wann et al.
4. Characterizing the environmental drivers of range-wide gene flow for greater sage-grouse – Zimmerman et al.
5. Characterizing greater sage-grouse climate driven maladaptation – Zimmerman et al.
6. Quantifying carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions in sagebrush rangelands to inform management for carbon resilience – Bagcilar et al.

2/6 – Invasive species, restoration effectiveness, and monitoring
Webinar recording
Summary webpage
Program with speakers, talks, and resources

1. Develop annual herbaceous percent cover maps in near-real time – Boyte et al.
2. Proliferation of fine fuels: Assessing under future climatic conditions – Roche et al.
3. Optimizing sagebrush restoration and management actions to increase connectivity within the Sagebrush Conservation Design – Tarbox et al.
4. Assessing cheatgrass treatment efficacy across the sagebrush biome – Tarbox et al.
5. Simulating trends in land health components under treatment scenarios and Sagebrush Conservation Design – Christensen et al.
6. Biome-wide vegetation change monitoring and warning system – Aldridge et al.
7. Vectors of annual grass invasion – Roche et al.
8. Predicting reburn risk to restoration investments – Applestein et al.

2/20 – Monitoring, pinyon-juniper, and fuels management
Webinar recording
Summary webpage
Program with speakers, talks, and resources

1. Planning for conservation delivery success: Linking biome-wide Sagebrush Conservation Design to local treatment planning by leveraging landscape restoration outcomes- Arkle et al.
2. Technical transfer tools for the Nevada and Oregon rangeland monitoring project (NORMP) – Pilliod et al.
3. Rapid and Other Assessment and Monitoring Methods (ROAM) project – Jeffries et al.
4. Pinyon-juniper treatments for minimizing climate and fire vulnerability – Noel et al.
5. Synthesis and forecasts of pinyon-juniper woodland die-off – Wion (No recording)
6. Synthesizing scientific information on treatment and natural disturbance effects on pinyon-juniper woodlands and associated wildlife habitat – Halperin et al.

2/27 – Fire, fuels management, invasive species –
Webinar recording
Summary webpage
Program with speakers, talks, and resources

1. Longevity of herbicides targeting exotic annual grassed in sagebrush-steppe soils – Germino et al.
2. A collaborative and iterative framework for delivering applied fuel break science: With a focus on sagebrush ecosystems and the Great Basin – Shinneman et al.
3. UAS survey of sagebrush fuel breaks – Shinneman et al.
4. Invasive annual grass – Economic assessment – Orning et al.
5. Longevity of herbicides targeting exotic annual grasses in sagebrush-steppe soils – Germino et al.
6. Synthesis of indaziflam outcomes for protecting sagebrush ecosystems – Roche et al.
7. Can ruderal components of biocrust be maintained under increasing threats of drought, grazing, and wild horses? Condon et al.

3/6 – Climate, vegetation trends, and big game
Webinar recording
Summary webpage
Program with speakers, talks, and resources

1. Rangeland Condition Monitoring Assessment and Projection (RCMAP) vegetation trend summaries – Rigge
2. Integrating climate, sagebrush ecological integrity, and grazing – Holdrege et al.
3. Influence of future climate scenarios on habitat and population dynamics of greater sage-grouse – O’Neil et al.
4. Understanding and forecasting environmental controls over plant establishment in sagebrush ecosystems to enhance restoration success – Siegmund, Stears et al.
5. Treatment and post-fire assessment tools for management of the sagebrush ecosystem – Duniway, Tyree et al.
6. Science to support elk management efforts to reduce CWD risk – Janousek et al.