Proceedings: Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystems Symposium

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These proceedings cover two days of discussion on issues surrounding the ecology, uses, and management of sagebrush steppe ecosystems in the western United States, with emphasis on the Great Basin Desert and Columbia Plateau. The goal of the symposium was to identify practical solutions to stem the tide of loss and improve abilities to restore sagebrush ecosystems. The presentations and their knowledge dissemination are important to BLM for many reasons: 1) BLM is the largest manager of sagebrush ecosystems in this country and perhaps in the world. Many of its resource values and uses (grazing, watershed function [e.g., clean water], and recreation) are associated with sagebrush rangelands. 2) Sagebrush is a keystone species that is, in part, an indicator of the "health" of the entire region it inhabits. For example, as sagebrush has diminished in cover and area, we have seen sage grouse populations steadily decline until its listing as a threatened or endangered species is now imminent. As land managers, the BLM would like to turn the sage grouse and sagebrush decline around to maintain the flexibility to manage these rangelands for "health" as well as for the multiple uses that the public expects. 3) The Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area south of Boise is the home of the largest population of nesting raptors in North America. Loss of shrub habitat, especially sagebrush, is one of the most pressing issues in this important wildlife habitat area. Immediately following this symposium, a group of scientists, managers, and land users will meet to begin developing a strategy to reduce the loss of shrub habitat and restore areas now dominated by cheatgrass, an exotic, highly flammable annual grass. 4) The Idaho Standards for Rangeland Health and Guidelines for Livestock Grazing Management published in August 1997, developed by our three public "Resource Advisory Councils" in Idaho, direct BLM’s management to restore or maintain "healthy, productive, and diverse native animal habitat and populations of native plants" by implementing proper grazing management practices on our public lands. 5) Noxious weeds are in the forefront of BLM management today because of their potential to degrade or dominate disturbed sagebrush steppe rangelands. However, our drier big sagebrush sites can resist invasion by rush skeletonweed if a good cover of sagebrush is maintained on the site. Once sagebrush is lost through various disturbances, rush skeletonweed is much more apt to invade and eventually dominate these sites. Again, a healthy, intact sagebrush landscape is more resistant to the invasion of at least some noxious weeds. These are a few of the reasons why sagebrush steppe ecosystems are valued; much more about them is discussed through the symposium.

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Location: COMMUNITY ECOLOGY SHELF - GENERAL, ELECTRONIC FILE - Zoology

Full Citation: Entwistle PG, DeBolt AM, Kaltenecker JH, Steenhof K, compilers. 2000. Proceedings: Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystems Symposium; 21-23 June 1999; Boise State University, Boise, ID. Boise: USDI Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office. Publication No. BLM/PT-001001+1150. 145 p.