WYOMING — The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released the latest sagebrush science from across the Sagebrush Biome, and as declines of the sagebrush sea are ongoing, one of the largest areas of projected stable Core Sagebrush Areas (CSAs) is currently located in southwest Wyoming.
Research published this month in Rangeland Ecology & Management, titled “Climate Change Amplifies Ongoing Declines in Sagebrush Ecological Integrity,” defines CSAs as large and intact high-quality areas of sagebrush that have ecological connectivity, meaning not fragmented by development.
The research confirms that, each year, 1.3 million acres of the most intact sagebrush areas are being lost despite current conservation efforts. The primary drivers of this rapid plant mortality include cheatgrass invasion and increases in wildfire frequency, in addition to climate change substantially beginning to alter sagebrush plant communities whose structure and function are closely tied to soil moisture and temperature.
“In this era of rapid change, retention of large sagebrush landscapes with high ecological integrity has emerged as a primary conservation strategy,” the paper states.
In other words, CSAs are more likely to resist forces of transformation and decline, and 66% of CSAs are projected to remain climatically suitable to continue to support wildlife and livestock.
According to the research, most of the area currently identified as CSAs is located in southwestern Wyoming. That area has long-term potential to provide “climatically resilient conservation anchors of high-quality core sagebrush,” meaning efforts to grow the sagebrush core may be most successful in this location.
The paper proposes both “resist” and “adaptation” strategies, either preserving or restoring ecosystems to their historical state or accepting a certain extent of adaptation where climate change could make some sagebrush habitats difficult to restore.
Locally, Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) has been working to restore pastures that homesteaders converted from sagebrush habitat to hayfields to their original state to increase wildlife habitat and migration corridors.
Over the past 17 years, 1,400 acres are in various stages of restoration in the area.
