Proceedings brand creation for a prescribed fire culture – utilizing key social media parameters. Lars Coleman*1, J. Kelly Hoffman1, Thomas McDaniel1, R. Patrick Bixler2, Urs P. Kreuter1, Morgan Russell3

Native plant species are the foundation of sagebrush ecosystems and provide essential habitat for wildlife species, like Greater sage-grouse. The National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration provides a coordinated approach to improving the use of native seed, building federal and private capacity, and increasing the supply of genetically appropriate, native seed. Restoring the sagebrush biome poses significant logistical challenges for collecting, evaluating, increasing, procuring, and using genetically appropriate, native seed. Ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive annual grasses can be increased by considering both seed source and genetic diversity when selecting seeds and plant materials. Here, we present trade-offs to consider when selecting seed and plant materials for rehabilitation and restoration. 

VISUALIZATION AND DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS

The recently published Science Framework for Conservation and Restoration of the Sagebrush Biome (C&R Strategy) provides a strategic approach that supports management decisions across the sagebrush biome.  U.S. Geological Survey scientists along with Federal and State partners are developing a core set of data, models, and a web-based geospatial tool for the C&R Strategy to support resource planning needs in the sagebrush biome.  Initial efforts are focused on making data and derived products associated with the C&R Strategy available and useable by a wide audience, ranging from managers and decision makers to GIS professionals and resource specialists.  Key functions associated with the web application include: 1) spatial data discovery and exploration; 2) desktop analysis of predefined or user-defined areas of interest; and 3) data summarization and generation of reports.  This work is capitalizing on previous and ongoing research and development projects that are focused on large landscape conservation.  The initial public release of the application is planned for December 2017. 

MANAGING LIVESTOCK GRAZING. Jeffrey L. Beck*¹, Michael "Sherm" G. Karl², Jeanne C. Chambers³; ¹University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, ²Bureau of Land Management, Denver, CO, ³USDA Forest Service, Reno, NV

Federal and state agencies are working together with private landowners to maintain or improve habitat for greater sage-grouse and other species at-risk in a manner appropriate for site conditions and landowner interests. Designing livestock grazing management practices to improve habitats requires a consistent approach that can be applied across jurisdictions. The Science Framework provides an approach for determining an area’s suitability for management actions and the appropriate types of actions that can be applied to livestock grazing management. At the mid-scale (ecoregion or Management Zone) geospatial data and analyses are used to evaluate: 1) the predominant disturbances and stressors; 2) the likely response of an area to disturbance or stress and/or management actions (i.e., resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasion by annual grasses); and 3) the capacity of an area to support target species and/or resources. At the local scale (field office or district) ecological types/sites and state-and-transition models are useful for: 1) characterizing the area and its relative resilience and resistance; 2) evaluating the current ecological dynamics of the ecological types/sites and, where possible, their restoration pathways; and 3) selecting livestock grazing management practices with potential to increase ecosystem functioning and habitat conditions. Evaluating the habitat objectives for sage-grouse and other species at risk can help determine if the management area (e.g., grazing allotment) has potential to achieve the objectives and, if so, the specific livestock grazing management practices needed to achieve the objectives. Greater sage-grouse breeding and nesting seasonal habitat, and brood-rearing/summer seasonal habitat have the greatest potential to be affected by livestock grazing and vegetation objectives have been established for these habitats. Ecological type/site descriptions and state-and-transition models can be used to evaluate current habitat characteristics and determine appropriate livestock grazing management practices for meeting habitat objectives.

WILD HORSE AND BURRO CONSIDERATIONS. Paul Griffin*¹, Jared Bybee², Hope Woodward³, Gail H. Collins⁴, Jacob D. Hennig⁵, Jeanne C. Chambers⁶; ¹BLM, Fort Collins, CO, ²BLM, Ely, NV, ³USFS, Washington, DC, ⁴US Fish and Wildlife Refuge, Lakeview, OR, ⁵University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, ⁶USDA Forest Service, Reno, NV

Wild horse and burro overpopulation on the range is not easily managed, and can influence the potential success of conservation and restoration projects. Wild horses can routinely move many miles per day for water and forage. At high densities, both horses and burros can have negative influences on vegetation, soils, and native wildlife. The BLM and USFS manage wild horses and burros on designated public lands in ten western States. Constraints on the agencies’ abilities to manage wild horses and burros can limit habitat conservation and vegetation restoration. As of March 1, 2017, BLM estimated that there were nearly 73,000 wild horses and burros on BLM lands, while the appropriate management levels were approximately 27,000. Roughly 7,100 more wild horses and burros live on USFS lands. Approximately 45,000 to 47,000 unadopted animals are currently maintained off-range by BLM at an annual cost of $49 million. Because of the high cost of holding animals off-range, the number of animals that can be removed from the range is limited, and the on-range population continues to grow exponentially, at rates up to 20% per year. We will present a spatial analysis, examining wild horse and burro densities with respect to three resistance and resilience categories, and with respect to Greater Sage-grouse breeding habitat probabilities. We will share insights from this analysis that can be useful for managers who are considering where and how to make rangeland conservation and restoration efforts. 

INTEGRATING TAMARIX BIOCONTROL WITH CONVENTIONAL MANAGEMENT METHODS IN SOUTHWESTERN RESERVOIRS
. Leeland Murray*, Erik Lehnhoff, Brian Schutte, Carol Sutherland; New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM

ABSTRACT

Tamarix spp., invasive riparian shrubs, are ecological and economic threats in the southwest as they displace native vegetation and necessitate costly management. Tamarix control typically consists of chemical and mechanical removal, but these methods can prove to have negative ecological and economic impacts. Tamarisk beetles (Diorhabda spp.) released for biocontrol, are becoming increasingly established within Western river systems and are another form of control. While there is abundant research on each of these treatment methods, no research has been conducted on integrating these methods to improve management. Our work, conducted at Caballo Reservoir in southern New Mexico addressed the question, could Diorhabda herbivory be combined with mechanical and chemical treatment to achieve greater control with fewer non-target impacts. A field experiment was conducted by testing the impacts of integrating mowing and herbicide with herbivory at a standard and low rate (2.78 lb ae ha-1 and 0.93 lb ae ha-1 respectively), with treatments replicated five times, at two field locations — a seasonally flooded and dry site. Green foliage percent and gas exchange (via LI-COR 6400) were measured. Results showed herbicide treatments reduced transpiration rates and green foliage at both sites, and was influenced by adults and larva beetle numbers. At the end of two growing seasons, herbivory alone showed a high green foliage percent recovery, while mowing and herbicide treatments all displayed severely reduced percentages of green foliage.  Data shows combining conventional management methods with biocontrol could result in additional stress through a combination of reduced green foliage recovery and a continued reduction in aboveground biomass within mowed treatments. Incorporating this new knowledge into land management objectives for Tamarix control can result in more effective overall management plans.

ACACIA FARNESIANA CONTROL IN BUFFELGRASS PASTURES IN THE MATORRAL AREA AT ALAMOS, SONORA, MEXICO. Fernando Jr. A. Ibarra-Martin*¹, Martha H. Martin Rivera¹, Fernando A. Ibarra-Flores¹, Rodolfo Garza Ortega², George A. Rasmussen³, Salomon Moreno Medina¹; ¹University of Sonora, Santa Ana, Mexico, ²Dow Agrosciences, Hermosillo, Mexico, ³Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX

ABSTRACT

Vinorama or huizache (A. farnesiana) is an aggressive tall-shrub which invades buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris) pastures and reduces productivity. Prado herbicide (621.3 g i.a./kg. Amynopyralid + 94.5 g i.a./kg. Metsulfuron metil) is a new product from Dow Agrosciences in Mexico and no local data is available for its use. This study was conducted in summer of 2011 to evaluate the efficiency of Prado herbicide and manual con­trol by machete to reduce vinorama populations. Treatments applied were: Prado herbicide one doses (75 grams) on 100 liters of water, manual control by machete and the untreated check. Plot 10 by 30 m were used in a randomized complete block design with three treatments and 20 replications. Data was analyzed by ANOVA. Evaluated variables were: brush mor­tality, grass density, plant height, basal cover and forage pro­duction. All variables were evaluated from 2011 to 2013. Prado herbicide controlled 100% of vinorama and caused no phytotoxicity problems to grasses present. Machete treatments controlled 5% of the vinorama plants but treated plants sprouted back and reach pretreatment levels after three summer growing seasons. Chemical brush control increased (P<0.05) grass density, plant height, basal cover and the forage production of both buffelgrass and native grass species. Total forage pro­duction varied from 7.5 to 9.0 metric tons D.M./ha on chemically treated plots, from 6.5 to 6.8 metric tons D.M./ha on machete treat­ed areas and from 4.3 to 4.9 metric tons D.M./ha on the untreated checks. Buffelgrass plots where vinorama was controlled pro­duced additionally from 1.6 to 3.6 metric tons of D.M.ha/year. Man­ual control by machete is not recommended because of low plant control and forage production increases are short-lived and are economically not justified. Foliar applications of Prado herbicide are appropriated to reduce vinorama populations and increase pro­ductivity in buffelgrass pastures in the humid areas of south­ern Sonora, Mexico.

AN ASSESSMENT OF SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES RELATED TO PRESCRIBED BURNING
. Omkar Joshi*, John R. Weir, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf; Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK

ABSTRACT

Prescribed burn associations are the cooperatives that share knowledge, experience, and equipment among contributing members to increase the application and safety of fire as a management tool.  However, soaring management costs, complex liability laws, and the uncontrolled fire risks in wildland-urban interface have negatively influenced their preference towards prescribed burning. We conducted an online survey of memberships to understand the social, economic, and environmental issues related to prescribed burning. The preliminary results suggest that more than half respondents had at least 10 years of experience in prescribed burning. The majority stakeholders, however, did not have an insurance coverage. Weather conditions, safety, firebreaks, and needed equipment to conduct the burn had the strongest influence in conducting or planning for a prescribed fire. Study results suggest some policy and outreach strategies that can help reduce burning costs and increase stakeholder participation in prescribed burning.   

ABOVEGROUND CARBON ACCUMULATION IN TREATED AND UNTREATED WESTERN JUNIPER (JUNIPERUS OCCIDENTALIS) SYSTEMS IN CENTRAL OREGON

Woody plant encroachment transforming rangelands influences the carbon pool worldwide. Encroachment of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) is a significant problem in Oregon rangelands and it is common to control this species to favor the regrowth of shrubs and grasses. However, the consequences of juniper control in terms of carbon pools are not known. We intended to fill this gap with this study. Our study site was a paired watershed in central Oregon in which juniper trees were controlled in one area (the treated watershed) in 2005 and were left intact in the other (the untreated watershed). Each watershed had an area of about 110 ha. We quantified aboveground carbon pools for trees, shrubs, grasses, and litter in both the treated and untreated watersheds. In each watershed 20 plots of 20 m X 20 m were systematically established for mass evaluations. Juniper tree mass was estimated by previously established allometric equations. Also, one plot of 10 m x 10 m for shrub mass evaluation and four plots of 2 m x 2 m for grass and litter mass evaluation were established within each 20 m x 20 m plot. We estimate the average total aboveground accumulation of carbon to be five times higher on the untreated than on the treated watershed. Trees of the untreated watershed stored approximately 21 times more carbon than regrowth trees in the treated watershed. Grasses of the untreated watershed stored 50% more carbon than grasses on the treated watershed. On the other hand, shrubs and litter of the treated watershed stored 8 and 6 times more carbon, respectively, than those of the untreated watershed. Our findings support the proposition that juniper control results in a decrease in total carbon pools, although the increase in the shrub carbon pool partially offsets those losses.

JUNIPER REMOVAL IN SAGEBRUSH COMMUNITIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR SPECIES INTERACTIONS

Invasion by western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) leads to fragmentation and alteration of sagebrush steppe and is a major consideration for managers concerned with the conservation of sagebrush-associated species. Recent efforts aimed at improving habitat for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) have involved reduction of juniper cover. However, for other species associated with sagebrush, effects of these management actions remain either untested or only partially understood. Little is known about small mammal communities in juniper-encroached sage habitats, and the use of these landscapes by aerial predators that influence sage-grouse individual and nest survival has not been explicitly examined.  For managers, balancing the requirements of a range of taxa necessitates an understanding of not only how management actions may influence population density and community structure, but also the mechanisms driving these changes. Altered habitat may affect species interactions at different spatial, temporal, and management thresholds through changes in predator-prey dynamics or habitat selection. Our objective is to examine how bird, small mammal, and predator communities respond to juniper removal and to identify how interactions among species may affect population demography.

JUNIPER ENCROACHMENT ON SAGEBRUSH-GRASSLAND IN NORTH EAST NEVADA. Glenn Shewmaker*; University of Idaho, Kimberly, ID

HABITAT MANAGEMENT THROUGH INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL. Katie R. Brown*, LynneDee Althouse, Daniel E. Meade; Althouse and Meade, Inc., Paso Robles, CA

Large scale renewable energy farms are being constructed throughout California to meet the States goal of deriving 50-percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2050.  Many of these renewable energy farms, including solar and wind turbine farms, are being constructed on sensitive wildlife habitat.  Construction and associated ground disturbance allows establishment of invasive weed species, potentially introduces new species, and may increase weed dispersal rates.  Invasive species identification, control, and management is critical in maintaining habitat integrity for wildlife.  To manage and protect sensitive wildlife habitat on two large solar farms in San Luis Obispo and Monterey County, and one large wind turbine farm in Solano County weed populations and densities were mapped throughout project lands.  Annual surveys are completed to determine success of control efforts and document changes in population and associated habitat.  Long-term monitoring and management has resulted in invasive species population decline and improved wildlife habitat.   

MECHANISMS THAT FACILITATE THE RESISTANCE TO CHEATGRASS INVASION IN PERENNIAL GRASS COMMUNITIES. Dan N. Harmon*¹, Charlie D. Clements²; ¹USDA-ARS, Reno, NV, ²USDA, Reno, NV

ABSTRACT

The competitive exclusion principle states that species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist. This contributes to the successful application of seeding and establishing an intact perennial grass community that resists invasion by cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Water and nitrogen are known limited resources in Great Basin ecosystems.  Observations of variability of cheatgrasss suppression or resistance to cheatgrass invasion during wet and dry years indicate soil moisture as a driving factor for resistance to invasion. We monitored perennial grass dominated communities where cheatgrass suppression was observed and the transition to cheatgrass dominance when the perennial grass was removed.  We measured soil moisture and available nitrogen during this transition and the effect that seedbed litter had on cheatgrass invasion after perennial grass removal.  Cheatgrass growth, density and seed banks were measured in healthy, robust and intact perennial grass communities and where the perennial grass was experimentally removed for comparison. We found a threefold increase in cheatgrass biomass when the competing perennial grass was removed (cheatgrass biomass lbs/acre = 108lb vs. 327lb). This increase has dramatic management implications for wildfire fuels management at the landscape level as cheatrgass biomass provides the fine fuels that increase the chance, rate and spread of wildfires in the Great Basin.

A DEGRADED SAGEBRUSH SITE OR AN ANNUAL GRASSLAND WITH SAGEBRUSH? THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE LANGUAGE. Brad Schultz*¹, Barry Perryman²; ¹UNR, Winnemucca, NV, ²University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV

During the past decade, and perhaps much longer, there has been substantial research and discussion about sagebrush plant communities and ecological sites. For sagebrush sites with a depleted perennial herbaceous understory, and an obvious component of annual grasses, the author virtually always describes the plant community as “a degraded sagebrush community.”  We believe this occurs for at least two reasons: 1) sagebrush is still present, and often with desired amounts of canopy cover; and 2) there is a small population of perennial grasses that potentially may increase. We propose that such sites are not “degraded sagebrush sites”, but rather annual grasslands with a remnant population of sagebrush and perennial grasses: at best a mixed annual-perennial plant community. Virtually all, if not every ecological process is primarily influenced by the annual grass component. Annual grasses are the ecological driver of all plant community dynamics as far into the future as one can possibly see. Using accurate language is critical to accurately describing the ecological situation and determining appropriate management actions. Consistently placing the emphasis on the ‘remnant perennial” component of the plant community, when the ecological driver is the abundance of the annual lifeforms regularly results in management for the perennial species. The result, especially in the most arid sagebrush systems, is more fires, fewer desired perennials, and an ever-larger portion of the landscape ecologically dominated by annual grasses. Acknowledging that landscapes with abundant annual grasses and remnant perennials, even when sagebrush cover is adequate, are actually annual grasslands with remnant perennials, changes the management focus from the “remnant perennials” toward to the ecologically dominant annual species. Management that does not address the ecologically dominant annual lifeform at least equal to the remnant desired perennial species, and yet, expects the perennials to increase, may be well-intended but boarders on delusional.

PREDICTING SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF WYOMING BIG SAGEBRUSH WITH TEBUTHIURON. Stephen Cassady¹, Rokelle L. Reeve*², Clare Poulsen³, Andrew Brishke⁴, Elizabeth Delcamp²; ¹Arizona Game and Fish Department, Flagstaff, AZ, ²University of Arizona, St. George, UT, ³NCRS, Fredonia, AZ, ⁴University of Arizona, Kingman, AZ

The intent of this study is to determine our ability to predict successful treatment with the application of Tebuthiuron to reduce Wyoming big sagebrush and increase herbaceous perennial vegetation. The initial stage of this study was to determine if the information available through the Arizona Strip BLM’s key area trend monitoring program could be utilized to predict the potential success of treating sagebrush dominated plant communities. From 1994 to 2010 approximately 108,000 acres were treated with Tebuthiuron on the Arizona Strip. BLM records were searched to identify potential sites for analysis. 77 sites were treated with Tebuthiuron and a multi-agency team visited these sites. At each location the team verified that a treatment had occurred, obtained soil information, verified the ecological site, took photographs, produced a species list in order of apparent dominance, and made an assessment of the success of the treatment. Information from the monitoring data included frequency of perennial plants and ground cover information.  Components of this monitoring along with additional information collected by the team were then statistically analyzed for their reliability of predicting a threshold of success. This analysis did not provide a significant conclusion. The next stage of this project will be to analyze post treatment precipitation as a predictor of successful treatment. The Arizona Strip has many years of rainfall data that is collected quarterly. With the addition of precipitation data we hope to determine if post-treatment precipitation drives the success of Tebuthiuron treatments. 

THE EFFECT OF HERBICIDE APPLICATION ON RANGELAND SOIL NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY. Robert Blank*¹, Charlie Clements¹, Tye Morgan¹, Dan N. Harmon²; ¹USDA-ARS, Reno, NV, ²USDA ARS, reno, NV