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A field along Interstate 80, peppered with sagebrush, stretches into the distance in November 2016 outside Granger. A new report found Wyoming is home to the largest stretch of intact sagebrush in the nation.
Of the 13 Western states encompassing the vast sagebrush ecosystem, Wyoming is home to the largest intact stretch, a multi-agency report reaffirmed Thursday.
Wyoming is increasingly vulnerable, however, to the same pressures as the rest of the disappearing ecosystem. And with 1.3 million acres of sagebrush lost to disturbance across the West every year, efforts to protect intact lands — especially localized, collaborative ones — are more important than ever, according to a report developed by nearly two dozen scientists from state and federal agencies, universities and conservation groups.
“Prevention is a more affordable strategy than cure,” said Matt Cahill, director of the Nature Conservancy’s Sagebrush Sea Program and one of the authors of the report.
A big-picture look at the status of the entire sagebrush ecosystem and the threats it faces broadly, the report is intended as a tool to supplement (but not replace) the locally specific information already available to decision-makers at all levels of government.
The report highlights the leading threats to the sagebrush ecosystem and the hundreds of species it supports: Incursion of invasive annual grasses and conifers top the list, followed by human modification to the landscape. And it calls for resources to be dedicated, first, to the least-damaged places, and then, where feasible, to areas in need of restoration — an approach that is already the norm in many parts of Wyoming.
Sage grouse, a species often treated as a barometer for the iconic ecosystem as a whole, are declining much more slowly — and may even be rebounding — on intact lands, the report discovered.
Not every degraded part of the sagebrush ecosystem can, realistically, be restored, Cahill said. But the report underscores that a lot still can, especially in Wyoming — without preventing energy development or harming the Wyoming economy.
“It’s not to tell anyone to do anything, anywhere, in specific,” Cahill said. “It’s meant to be a really helpful guide to show how the quality of the function of the ecosystem changes over really large landscapes, and helps managers and policymakers think about what they’re trying to keep intact over the coming decades.”
In Wyoming, for example, human development is more of a concern; conifers less so. But the impacts of climate change, which have crept slowly toward Wyoming from the edges of the ecosystem, are raising the risk of ecologically destructive events like drought and fire.
Each year greater sage-grouse perform dramatic displays on their communal breeding grounds known as "leks" and the dramatic display makes viewing sage-grouse a popular recreational activity during the spring season across much of Wyoming.
“There are a lot of challenges, and they continue to increase,” said Sara Brodnax, director of public lands policy at the National Audubon Society. “Wyoming can’t do it alone. As we think about the Great Basin and all of the states that have sagebrush landscapes, the scale of the challenge is immense. And it’s going to take all of us continuing to focus, continuing to push for progress.”
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department, which was not involved with the report and had not reviewed the findings, declined to comment for this story.
While Game and Fish and many other state entities are already devoting significant resources to defending the sagebrush ecosystem, particularly against invasive annual grasses, protecting those lands from the growing threats statewide will require even more support, according to Corinna Riginos, the Nature Conservancy’s Wyoming science director.
“I do think there’s more to do,” Riginos said. “Everyone knows that: That there’s more funding and capacity needed to really tackle this, and there needs to be coordination across all of these actors and local geographies to really have the maximum impact.”
But with federal conservation dollars already trickling into the state following the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, many in Wyoming, including Brodnax, are hopeful that the funding will come.
Despite the challenges the state still faces, “I feel optimistic,” Riginos said. “We can really do something important for the sagebrush ecosystem here in Wyoming.”
A male sage grouse struts at dawn Thursday, April 10, 2014 on a lek near the base of the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County.
Thursday, April 10, 2014 on a lek near the base of the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County. (Alan Rogers, Star-Tribune)
A male sage grouse chases off a rival in April of 2015 on a lek near Baggs. A new plan from Wyoming's greater sage grouse team aims to expand the species' population.
Sage grouse strut on a lek in 2015 near Baggs. Wyoming lawmakers are looking at extending the timeline for captive sage grouse breeding.
Sage grouse gather around small holes to eat dirt Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 near Pinedale. Bureau of Land Management biologists from the Pinedale office discovered in 2013 that sage grouse congregate daily at specific locations to eat the dirt, and are working to understand the behavior.
Sage grouse strut on a lek April 22, 2015 near Baggs. A Powell game bird farm has shelved plans to raise sage grouse.
A flock of sage grouse crosses the sky just after sunrise on Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 near Pinedale.
Josh Hemenway, a biologist with the Bureau of Land Management, uses a radio receiver to locate a sage grouse fitted with a GPS tracking device Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 near Pinedale. Hemenway and fellow biologist Dale Woolwine discovered in 2013 that sage grouse congregate daily at specific locations to eat dirt from small holes, and are working to understand the behavior.
A male sage grouse struts at sunrise in hopes of attracting a mate Saturday, April 12, 2014 on a lek near the base of the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County. (Alan Rogers, Star-Tribune)
Sage grouse strut on an abandoned airstrip in April 2014, near the base of the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County. The Bureau of Land Management delayed selling 578 parcels of land proposed for lease because the land is also sage grouse habitat.
Sage grouse gather around small holes to eat dirt Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 near Pinedale. Bureau of Land Management biologists from the Pinedale office discovered in 2013 that sage grouse congregate daily at specific locations to eat the dirt, and are working to understand the behavior.
Sage grouse gather around small holes to eat dirt Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 near Pinedale. Bureau of Land Management biologists from the Pinedale office discovered in 2013 that sage grouse congregate daily at specific locations to eat the dirt, and are working to understand the behavior.
A male sage grouse tries to impress a group of females, at left, on April 10, 2014 on a lek near the base of the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County. Concern about the grouse led a judge to keep the Trump administration from easing rules on energy development.
Dale Woolwine, a biologist with the Bureau of Land Management, uses a radio receiver to locate a sage grouse fitted with a GPS tracking device Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 near Pinedale. Woolwine and fellow biologist Josh Hemenway discovered in 2013 that sage grouse congregate daily at specific locations to eat dirt from small holes, and are working to understand the behavior.
A pair of male sage grouse strut near an uninterested female, at right, on Thursday, April 10, 2014 on a lek near the base of the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County. (Alan Rogers, Star-Tribune)
A male sage grouse puffs out its chest early Monday, April 17, 2017 on a lek in southern Natrona County.
Sage grouse strut at sunrise on an abandoned airstrip Saturday, April 12, 2014 near the base of the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County. (Alan Rogers, Star-Tribune)
The sun rises over the prairie on April 12, 2014 near the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County.
Sage grouse lift off after being startled Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 near Pinedale. B
A golf ball-sized hole in the ground left by pecking sage grouse Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 near Pinedale. Bureau of Land Management biologists from the Pinedale office discovered in 2013 that sage grouse congregate daily at specific locations to eat dirt from small holes, and are working to understand the behavior.
Sage grouse gather around small holes to eat dirt Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 near Pinedale. Bureau of Land Management biologists from the Pinedale office discovered in 2013 that sage grouse congregate daily at specific locations to eat the dirt, and are working to understand the behavior.
A male sage grouse works up the courage to attempt his mating display Thursday, April 10, 2014 on a lek near the base of the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County. (Alan Rogers, Star-Tribune)
A male sage grouse flies low over the ground early Monday, April 17, 2017 at a lek in southern Natrona County.
Josh Hemenway, a biologist with the Bureau of Land Management, observes sage grouse Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 near Pinedale. Hemenway and fellow biologist Dale Woolwine discovered in 2013 that sage grouse congregate daily at specific locations to eat dirt from small holes, and are working to understand the behavior.
Two male sage grouse compete for a small piece of territory early Monday, April 17, 2017 on a lek in southern Natrona County.
A male sage grouse works up the courage to attempt his mating display Thursday, April 10, 2014 on a lek near the base of the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County. (Alan Rogers, Star-Tribune)
A male sage grouse struts early Monday, April 17, 2017 on a lek in southern Natrona County.
Sage grouse strut on a lek April 22, 2015 near Baggs.
Male sage grouse strut in hopes of attracting a mate early Monday, April 17, 2017 on a lek in southern Natrona County.
A male sage grouse struts early Monday, April 17, 2017 on a lek in southern Natrona County.
A male sage grouse puts on a display to attract a mate April 22, 2015 on a lek near Baggs.
Male sage grouse strut in hopes of attracting a mate early Monday, April 17, 2017 on a lek in southern Natrona County.
Male sage grouse puff their chests and fan their tail feathers to attract the smaller, drab-colored females Thursday, April 10, 2014 on a lek near the base of the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County. (Alan Rogers, Star-Tribune)
Two male sage grouse compete for a piece of strutting ground Thursday, April 10, 2014 on a lek near the base of the Rattlesnake Range in southwest Natrona County. (Alan Rogers, Star-Tribune)
Male sage grouse strut in hopes of attracting a mate early Monday, April 17, 2017 on a lek in southern Natrona County.
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A field along Interstate 80, peppered with sagebrush, stretches into the distance in November 2016 outside Granger. A new report found Wyoming is home to the largest stretch of intact sagebrush in the nation.
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