What is SageSTEP?
SageSTEP (Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project) is a regional experiment to evaluate methods of sagebrush steppe restoration in the Great Basin. Sagebrush communities have been identified as one of the most threatened land types in North America, and as much as half of this land type has already been lost in the Great Basin. Many of the sagebrush communities that remain are in poor health (the sagebrush plants are old and unproductive and other native plants are scarce in the understory). SageSTEP scientists are studying the effects of land management options to provide resource managers with improved information to make restoration management decisions with reduced risk and uncertainty.The project is fully interdisciplinary, with ecological, economic, and social components. For summaries of SageSTEP studies and objectives, visit our About the Project page.
What's New?
Pocket Guide to Sagebrush Birds Now Available
Sagebrush habitats are home to unique avian species. Degradation of sagebrush is causing population declines for many of these species making them high priorities for conservation.The Pocket Guide to Sagebrush Birds emphasizes 40 bird species that utilize sagebrush habitats and includes tips on species identification, biology, and conservation status. For more information about how to obtain your FREE copy of this guide, click here.
Jefferson Wildfire burns through SageSTEP Study Plots
The Jefferson wildfire in eastern Idaho has burned through the SageSTEP Roberts study site on land managed by the BLM Upper Snake River Field Office. The fire burned through the entire prescribed burn and mow plots and part of the Spike herbicide plot. For more information and updates, visit the Roberts site page and look under "Additional Information".
Repeat photos of treated plots online
Photos of select SageSTEP subplots have been added to the Onaqui site page. These images illustrate the yearly changes at our study sites from 2006, before treatments were implemented, to 2009, 3 years following fuels treatments. To view the photos, click on the links found on this map.
SageSTEP News Issue 12, Spring 2010
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Learning Together Workshop Presentations and Information |
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Presentations with audio along with other information from our recent workshop in Tooele are now available online! Click here for links to PowerPoints from the indoor session as well as handouts and other documents for land managers of sagebrush and pinyon-juniper woodlands in the Great Basin. |
Guide to Stakeholder Groups |
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A new SageSTEP publication and online resource, Guide to Stakeholder Groups for Great Basin Sagebrush Steppe Restoration, provides information about stakeholder groups to assist managers as they deal with issues facing sagebrush systems. The guide is available online as well as in printable PDF format. Click here for more information and links to the document and webpages. |
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Ecology and Conservation of Greater Sage-Grouse: A Landscape Species and Its Habitats
Thirty-eight federal, state, university, and nongovernmental experts have collaborated to produce new scientific information about Greater Sage-Grouse populations, sagebrush habitats, and relationships among sage-grouse, sagebrush habitats, and land use. Click here for more information.
Piñon-Juniper Webzone
This is a new website that provides reference materials for piñon and juniper species in the Intermountain West including Texas. The site provides access to four popular publications, as well as an extensive reference list and photo gallery. Click here to enter the Piñon-Juniper Webzone.