ADVERSE IMPACTS OF WILDFIRE ON GREATER SAGE-GROUSE POPULATIONS AND SCIENCE-DRIVEN TOOLS TO SUPPORT MANAGEMENT ACTIONS

Peter S. Coates; U.S. Geological Survey; pcoates@usgs.gov; Mark A. Ricca, Brian G. Prochazka, Cali L. Roth, Brianne E. Brussee

Larger and more frequent wildfires are a primary threat to wildlife populations across sagebrush ecosystems in the western United States. The threat is exacerbated by the invasion of annual grasses, which drives an accelerated grass-fire cycle in the Great Basin and other areas and hinders recovery of fire-intolerant and slow-growing sagebrush. Moreover, recent research has quantified how increasing rates of cumulative (rather than instantaneous) area burned have long-term negative impacts on sage-grouse annual rates of population change. If these rates of cumulative area burned continue unabated, projections indicate that populations of sage-grouse will be reduced substantially in areas of their range over the next three decades. Thwarting these negative effects of fire is now at the forefront of national conservation efforts. Accordingly, we present example management tools aimed at offsetting adverse effects of wildfire on sage-grouse and other wildlife populations dependent on sagebrush ecosystems. These examples include scenario-based simulations to inform targeted fire suppression efforts at regional spatial scales, data-driven decision support tools to inform post-fire restoration actions at regional and local spatial scales, and relative benefits of restoration and fire suppression at multiple spatiotemporal scales.

Ecology and Conservation of Birds II