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9/25/2018 | 4:45 PM - 5:00 PM | Summary of Recent Studies on the Effects of Conifer Expansion and Removal on Sage-Grouse | Eccles Conference Center Auditorium

Summary of Recent Studies on the Effects of Conifer Expansion and Removal on Sage-Grouse

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are a sagebrush obligate species that are often considered an indicator of intact sagebrush ecosystems. Conservation of this species can help protect other sagebrush obligate and non-obligate species at large spatial scales. Conifer expansion in the sagebrush ecosystem is an important threat to sage-grouse populations and their habitat. Some recent studies have provided valuable information regarding effects of conifers on sage-grouse habitat selection patterns and demography. Other studies have already begun to assess effects of specific management actions aimed at reducing this threat. Here, we provide an overview of: 1) links between avoidance patterns of conifers and impacts on adult survival of sage-grouse, 2) behavioral mechanistic movement patterns that relate to these avoidance and survival patterns, and 3) conifer removal as an effective management action that can improve sage-grouse population vital rates. These studies collectively help explain broader landscape patterns of conifer effects on sage-grouse population persistence, and point to common management goals for conifer removal treatments in sagebrush ecosystems. Although great strides have been made recently, we are still in nascent stages of understanding the direct and indirect impacts of conifer expansion. However, these accomplished efforts contribute to our ecological understanding as well as to conservation of sage-grouse and other sagebrush obligate species.

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Presenters/Authors

Peter Coates (), US Geological Survey, pcoates@usgs.gov;