The sagebrush landscape, is a vast, largely
treeless and semi-arid system known for hot summers and cold winters. It
consists mainly of rocky hills, native bunchgrasses and sagebrush, and is home
to over 350 associated plant and animal species. The region spans from eastern Washington,
Oregon and California, through the Great Basin of Nevada and Idaho, up the high
valleys of the Intermountain West in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana to the
western edge of the Great Plains in the Dakotas.
The sagebrush landscape has diminished from 156 million
acres to 100 million acres since settlement began in the western United States.
Sagebrush face numerous threats including invasive species such as cheat grass,
conifer encroachment, altered fire regimes, unmanaged grazing and human
development and disturbance. Unless threats are addressed, the impact will compound
over time, transporting the ecosystem to a state that will be difficult, if not
impossible, to restore to its native condition.
The Sagebrush Landscape Program was created in 2017 to address bottlenecks in sagebrush
conservation and promote healthy rural agricultural economies in the western
United States. The program is a partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service and NFWF.
Key conservation strategies for this program include:
- Wet
meadow habitat enhancement and restoration: Found across the entire
sagebrush landscape, wet meadow habitats often make up less than two percent of
the landscape and are critically important to a wide array of species including
the iconic pronghorn, mule deer and sage grouse, as well as several types of
sagebrush- and wetland-reliant species. Wet meadows have been specifically
identified as high-priority by the Natural Resources Conservation Service-led Sage
Grouse Initiative and multiple other partners.
Numerous recent scientific publications support their importance for
wildlife habitat, livestock production and biodiversity hotspots. Throughout
the region, degraded wet meadows are a significant resource concern that have
received little attention to date. NFWF
investments will help advance awareness, technical resources and localized
action for the conservation of these important habitats.
- The
“all lands” management approach: Throughout much of the West, land
ownership is spread across Private, State, and Federal parcels. As a result, implementing
a landscape approach to conservation efforts can be challenging. NFWF will
support additional capacity in areas that can benefit from cross-jurisdictional
project management furthering conservation efforts for sagebrush landscapes and
the associated species.