Science-Informed
Conservation
Photo: Jeremy Roberts
Why do we
need to conserve the sagebrush biome?
The sagebrush biome is one of the most intact and least modified ecosystems in the world, on par with the Amazon or the Serengeti. It’s also the largest contiguous open space in the Lower 48. It supports hundreds of species, helps power rural economies, and is a defining feature of the American West.
Why do we need a new approach to sagebrush conservation?
Each year, we are losing 1.3 million acres of the most intact sagebrush areas despite our current conservation efforts across the biome.
Invasive annual grasses, expanding conifers, and large wildfires caused more than 90% of degradation of Core Sagebrush Areas over the past 20 years.
These losses impact livelihoods and reduce important ecosystem services like water availability, wildlife habitat, forage for livestock, and more.
Current efforts are only alleviating 10% of the problem— we need to be much more targeted in our conservation to defend and grow the biome’s last remaining Core Sagebrush Areas.
We have the tools, science, and knowledge to adopt a spatially targeted, proactive, and collaborative conservation model that defends Core Sagebrush Areas and helps communities throughout the biome.
Photo: Jeremy Roberts
There is Only Hope if We Manage Change
This special issue of Rangeland Ecology & Management provides an actionable path forward to fight common threats across 13 states to improve the region’s economic and ecological stability.
20
Articles
These peer-reviewed articles delve into the science of how, where, and why we are deploying the Sagebrush Conservation Design to conserve the sagebrush biome.
70+
Authors
This impressive group of experts have come together to produce this focused suite of science and a set of actionable paths forward to proactively conserve the sagebrush biome.
24
Organizations
Groups ranging from from federal land management agencies to universities to nonprofits contributed to the special issue of Rangeland Ecology & Management.
This special issue is the "now what" for the Sagebrush Conservation Design .