Fact Sheet / Brief

Forgotten grasslands: Basin wildrye

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The Nature Conservancy used soils data and satellite imagery to map plant communities to a one-meter resolution. They determined that 268 acres in Great Basin National Park is a basin wildrye ecosystem. This ecosystem was identified as the most endangered plant community in the Park through a park-wide watershed analysis and conservation planning assessment process.

Environmental governance on the range: Voluntary conservation to preclude an ESA listing?

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Through one case study in Lake County, Oregon, we examined voluntary landowner conservation as part of an Oregon-wide strategy to preclude listing of greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We focused, in particular, on features of program offerings for sage-grouse conservation that motivated participation of private landowners engaged in cattle production. In October 2016 and spring of 2017, we conducted 23 total interviews with Lake County landowners, governmental and nongovernmental (NGO) staff in Lake County, and governmental and NGO actors at the state level.

The science of fuel treatments

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A review of fuel treatment findings from JFSP studies, suggests:

  • Appropriately designed fuel treatments substantially reduce fire intensity and detrimental ecological effects. In forest ecosystems that are adapted to frequent, low intensity fires, the combination of tree thinning followed by the regular use of prescribed fire are most effective.
  • Fuel treatments can improve wildlife habitat, increase biodiversity, and increase forage production when they are designed with these considerations in mind.
  • Not all wildfires have negative impacts. A wildfire that burns under specific conditions can be an effective surrogate for a fuel treatment.

Limiting medusahead invasion and impacts in the Great Basin

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This fact sheet provides managers with strategies to reduce the spread and impact of medusahead.

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Establishing big sagebrush and other shrubs from planting stock

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Bareroot or container seedlings can be used to quickly re-establish big sagebrush and other native shrubs in situations where direct seeding is not feasible or unlikely to succeed. Guidelines are provided for developing a planting plan and timeline, arranging for seedling production, and installing and managing outplantings.

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Post-fire grazing management in the Great Basin

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This fact sheet provides guidelines for maintaining productive sagebrush steppe communities in grazed areas after fire. The focus is on plant communities that, prior to fire, were largely intact and had an understory of native perennial herbaceous species or introduced bunchgrass, rather than invasive annual grass.

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Fuel breaks that work

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This fact sheet provides a framework for the placement, use, and effectiveness of established fuel breaks for protecting sagebrush ecosystems.

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Conifer removal in the sagebrush steppe: The why, when, where, and how

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This fact sheet provides land managers with a brief summary of the effects of conifer expansion and infill in sagebrush ecosystems and of potential management strategies.

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Reestablishing perennial-dominated plant communities in medusahead-invaded sagebrush rangeland

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This fact sheet provides managers with tools and strategies to reestablish perennial-dominated plant communities in medusahead-invaded sagebrush rangelands.

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Putting resilience and resistance into practice

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Land managers are increasingly interested in improving resilience to disturbances,such as wildfire, and resistance to invasive species,such as cheatgrass and medusahead. This fact sheet is designed to assist land managers in resilience and resistance concepts to assess risks, prioritize management activities, and select treatments.

This is the first of many topics reviewed in the Great Basin Fact Sheet series.

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