Download Thunder Basin Research Initiative UW College of Agriculture and

Thunder Basin Research Initiative
UW College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
USDA Agricultural Research Service, Rangeland Resources Research Unit
Thunder Basin Grasslands Prairie Ecosystem Association and Regional Grazing Associations
Thunder Basin National Grassland, USDA-Forest Service
Thunder Basin Research Initiative
• Provide knowledge base to guide the management of
Thunder Basin for multiple ecosystem services
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Livestock production
Conservation of shortgrass ecosystems and associated species
Conservation of sagebrush ecosystems and associated species
Energy production
• Produce updated Ecological Site Description (ESDs),
state-and-transition models (STMs), decision support
tools and/or best practices for public and private land
managers.
Natural
Resource
Scientists
Land Mgmt Agencies
Non-gov Organizations
Livestock Producers
Energy Companies
• Management for shortgrass vs. sagebrush ecosystems
– Cannot have both in the same place at same time
– Multiple bird species of conservation concern with mutually exclusive
habitat requirements
– Sagebrush vs. livestock production tradeoffs?
– Shortgrass (prairie dog) vs livestock production tradeoffs
• Ecological Uncertainty
– Historic role of fire and relationship to sagebrush?
– Spatial variation in the effects of herbivores (domestic and native)?
– Area requirements for “sustainable” populations of sage grouse, blackfooted ferrets, mountain plovers?
– Effects of prairie dog/ferret management on sage grouse conservation?
University of Wyoming
Bret Hess (AES director)
Jeff Beck (sage grouse)
Derek Scasta (grazing ecology, extension)
Brian Mealor (invasive species)
Courtney Duchardt (grassland birds)
Lauren Connell (grazing ecology)
TBGPEA
Dave Pellatz (everything)
Frank Eathorne (ranch management)
Laurel Vicklund (energy)
Thunder Basin National Grassland (USFS)
Agricultural Research Service
Lauren Porensky (landscape ecology)
David Augustine (prairie dogs, plovers)
Justin Derner (livestock grazing management)
Dana Blumenthal (invasive species)
Billy Armstrong (GIS)
Shane Walker (district manager)
Misty Hayes (asst. district manager)
Cristi Painter (wildlife, shortgrass)
Moriah Shadwick (livestock/vegetation)
Tim Byer (wildlife, sagebrush)
Grazing Associations
Additional Key Collaborators, Interests
Wyoming Game and Fish Dept.
USFWS/USGS – Ferret reintroduction; plague management
NRCS – soil mapping, ESDs, STMs
Colorado State University (LFTL: Fernandez-Giminez, Aldridge, Timmer)
Univ of Colorado (Wunder – plover migration)
Conservation NGOS (Defenders, Audubon, WWF)
Wyoming Stockgrowers Association
USFS Research (Butler)
Thunder Basin Research Initiative: Current Efforts
1. Role of wildfire in Thunder Basin
ecosystems
2. Effects of multiple herbivores on plant
community dynamics across varying
soils/ecological sites (cattle, pronghorn,
lagomorphs, prairie dogs)
3. Landscape management for multiple
grassland bird guilds
(1) How do different kinds of fire impact
Thunder Basin ecosystems?
• Lead Scientist:
– Lauren Porensky, USDA-ARS
• Effects of wildfire on:
– forage quantity and quality for livestock
and other ungulates
– abundance of brome species
– forage and habitat for different kinds of
birds
– soil stability and erosion
Drivers of interest
– Fire: years since fire, fire size, fire season, fire
shape, weather before/during/after fire
– Landscape: ecological site, soil, elevation,
slope, aspect, landform
2014 Field Research
• 30 historic fires of varying ages
• All inside TBNG, MLRA 58B, and a grazing
allotment
• Mix of land ownership
Wildfires dramatically reduce sagebrush density; even in very old
burns (1937 and 1974) sagebrush recovery is quite slow
Burned areas have less cactus
Burning does not increase cheatgrass cover…if anything,
cheatgrass is slightly more abundant in unburned areas
(2) How do different kinds of herbivores affect
Thunder Basin ecosystems?
Project Leads: Lauren Connell (UW),
Derek Scasta (UW), Lauren Porensky (ARS)
Questions:
(1) What is the relative influence of livestock and
multiple guilds of native herbivores (pronghorn,
lagomorphs, prairie dogs) on plant community
dynamics?
(2) To what extent are effects contingent on variability
in soil texture and topography?
(2) How do different kinds of herbivores affect
Thunder Basin ecosystems?
Project Leads: Lauren Connell (UW),
Derek Scasta (UW), Lauren Porensky (ARS)
(3) Landscape management for multiple
grassland bird guilds
Project Leads: Courtney Duchardt (UW),
Jeff Beck (UW), David Augustine (ARS)
Objectives:
(1) Quantify the distribution of 7
grassland bird species (4 sage associates;
3 shortgrass associates) in relationship to
habitat heterogeneity (prairie dogs,
sagebrush, soils, topography)
(2) Examine influence of landscape
distribution of prairie dog colonies on
occurrence and population dynamics of
select species.
(3) Landscape management for multiple
grassland bird guilds
(3) Landscape management for multiple
grassland bird guilds
(3) Landscape management for multiple
grassland bird guilds