Woodland management in sagebrush- The big picture

View brief.

Study findings include:

• From 2011-2017, the extent of conifer cover in sagebrush country decreased by 1.6%. Human management efforts are responsible for 2/3 of the total reduction; the other 1/3 is due to wildfires.
• Previous estimates suggest that conifer cover in sagebrush country is growing by 0.4%-1.5% annually, which means that our efforts are keeping pace with conifer encroachment but that more needs to be done.
• Public/private partnerships are successfully reducing conifers in highly targeted priority watersheds, such as in northwest Utah.
• The maps also show that woodlands are still expanding into many sagebrush landscapes. Continued partnership efforts are needed to strategically conserve priority shrublands.