Science to Solutions

We provide scientific reports, project profiles, technical tools, videos, photos, field guides, and links that tell the story of how cooperative conservation is making a difference for working lands and wildlife across the West.

Quantifying Outcomes Improves Conservation Effectiveness
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Quantifying Outcomes Improves Conservation Effectiveness

Since 2012, Working Lands for Wildlife has partnered with the Conservation Effects Assessment Project to co-produce 37 peer-reviewed studies that measure conservation ...
Working Lands for Wildlife Initiatives Benefit Songbirds Too!
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Working Lands for Wildlife Initiatives Benefit Songbirds Too!

Science to Solutions | New research shows that prairie songbirds benefit from lesser prairie-chicken-focused conservation ...
Conserving prairies for chickens helps millions of songbirds too
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Conserving prairies for chickens helps millions of songbirds too

Science to Solutions | New research shows that implementing conservation practices like prescribed grazing increases songbird populations in the southern Great Plains, while ...
Big Picture of Woodland Management in Sagebrush Country
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Big Picture of Woodland Management in Sagebrush Country

Science to Solutions - New research highlights reduction and expansion of conifer encroachment in sagebrush ...
Woody Invasion in the Great Plains Diminishes Water Resources
Science to Solutions

Woody Invasion in the Great Plains Diminishes Water Resources

Research details impacts to water from encroaching eastern redcedar and other conifers on landscapes in the Great ...
Woody Invasion Impacts Water on Great Plains
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Woody Invasion Impacts Water on Great Plains

Science to Solutions - New research details impacts to water from encroaching eastern redcedar and other conifers on landscapes in the Great Plains. Similar impacts occur on ...
Conserving Diverse Wet Habitats Keeps Western Rangelands Resilient
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Conserving Diverse Wet Habitats Keeps Western Rangelands Resilient

New research highlights the importance of mesic resources for sage grouse and other wildlife ...
Grazed Rangelands Produce Sage Grouse Chicks’ Preferred Food
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Grazed Rangelands Produce Sage Grouse Chicks’ Preferred Food

New research shows that grazing lands grow more bugs for birds to ...
Low-Tech Riparian And Meadow Restoration Keeps Rangelands Greener Longer
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Low-Tech Riparian And Meadow Restoration Keeps Rangelands Greener Longer

New research shows low-tech restoration methods increased vegetation productivity by 25% and kept plants greener longer, resulting in greater ...
Harnessing Technology Improves Conservation Effectiveness
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Harnessing Technology Improves Conservation Effectiveness

Innovative Web App increases conservation effectiveness on working lands in the American West by matching the right practices to the right places using emerging science and ...
Research Says, Adjusting Grazing Practices Can Improve Prairie-Chicken Habitat
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Research Says, Adjusting Grazing Practices Can Improve Prairie-Chicken Habitat

SCIENCE TO SOLUTIONS: A new study by researchers at Kansas State University identifies specific grazing practices that create the varied grassland habitat structure that ...
Patch-Burn Grazing Fires Up Prairie-Chicken Habitat
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Patch-Burn Grazing Fires Up Prairie-Chicken Habitat

SCIENCE TO SOLUTIONS: Hot off the press! New research shows that patch-burn grazing creates the mosaic of grassland habitat structure that prairie-chickens depend on. LPCI's ...
Taking the Bias Out of Sage Grouse Nesting Studies
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Taking the Bias Out of Sage Grouse Nesting Studies

This new Science to Solutions shows that grass height may not be as crucial to nesting success as previously thought, since hatched nests are measured later than failed ...
Grazing Management In Perspective: A Compatible Tool For Sage Grouse Conservation
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Grazing Management In Perspective: A Compatible Tool For Sage Grouse Conservation

New research shows that — done right — livestock grazing may help conserve sage grouse habitat by keeping working ranches profitable and ...
Sage Grouse Need Intact Landscapes For Long-Distance Movement
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Sage Grouse Need Intact Landscapes For Long-Distance Movement

New science shows that keeping big landscapes healthy and connected is essential for maintaining bigger-than-expected sage grouse ...
Conifer Removal Boosts Sage Grouse Success
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Conifer Removal Boosts Sage Grouse Success

New research shows that 86% of hens avoided nesting in sagebrush habitat invaded by conifers. Luckily, the studies also show that removing conifers in otherwise high-quality ...
Sagebrush Songbirds Under the Sage Grouse Umbrella
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Sagebrush Songbirds Under the Sage Grouse Umbrella

New songbird maps provide tools to help expand the benefits of sage grouse conservation to more wildlife species in the sagebrush community. Learn more from our latest Science ...
SCIENCE TO SOLUTIONS: LPCI Conservation Practices Boost Lesser Prairie-Chicken Occupancy
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SCIENCE TO SOLUTIONS: LPCI Conservation Practices Boost Lesser Prairie-Chicken Occupancy

SCIENCE TO SOLUTIONS: A recent study—the first part of a multi-year research project—shows that lesser prairie-chicken occupancy increases in areas where landowners are ...
Sagebrush Rangelands Help Maintain Water Availability
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Sagebrush Rangelands Help Maintain Water Availability

Water delivery is delayed by an average of nine days in sagebrush systems compared to juniper-dominated systems. Holding water later into the summer season helps the sagebrush ...
SCIENCE TO SOLUTIONS: Redcedar Removal Restores Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat
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SCIENCE TO SOLUTIONS: Redcedar Removal Restores Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat

SCIENCE TO SOLUTIONS: The science is in! A new study resoundingly confirms that redcedar encroachment greatly impacts lesser prairie-chickens. Our new Science to Solutions ...
Grazing and Sagebrush Treatments: A 25-year Case Study in Utah
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Grazing and Sagebrush Treatments: A 25-year Case Study in Utah

The newest Science to Solutions report is based on findings from a 25-year case study on a ranch in Utah. The study shows that sustainable grazing practices and sagebrush ...
Sagebrush Songbirds Benefit from Sage Grouse Habitat Restoration
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Sagebrush Songbirds Benefit from Sage Grouse Habitat Restoration

New research released as part of the Sage Grouse Initiative's Science to Solutions series shows that restoring sagebrush ecosystems not only benefits ranching and sage grouse ...
Reducing Cultivation of Grazing Lands Conserves Sage Grouse
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Reducing Cultivation of Grazing Lands Conserves Sage Grouse

In the northeast part of sage grouse range, 70% of the best habitat is privately owned-–and the single greatest threat in this region is cultivation of native sagebrush ...
New Science to Solutions Report: High-Resolution Maps Sharpen Focus On Sage Grouse Habitat
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New Science to Solutions Report: High-Resolution Maps Sharpen Focus On Sage Grouse Habitat

This new Science to Solutions report explains how a new technique called Earth Sense Technology (EST) is a cost-effective way to assesses range conditions throughout the West, ...
High-Res Maps Sharpen Focus on Sage Grouse Habitat
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High-Res Maps Sharpen Focus on Sage Grouse Habitat

Science to Solutions: High-Res Maps Sharpen Focus On Sage Grouse Habitat A new technique called Earth Sense Technology (EST) is ...
New SGI Science to Solutions Report: Sage Grouse Conservation Benefits Migratory Mule Deer
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New SGI Science to Solutions Report: Sage Grouse Conservation Benefits Migratory Mule Deer

Sage grouse habitat conservation protects critical habitat for mule deer, according to a study highlighted in the newest Sage Grouse Initiative Science to Solutions ...
Sage Grouse Conservation Benefits Migratory Mule Deer
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Sage Grouse Conservation Benefits Migratory Mule Deer

This report shows how habitat conservation for sage grouse, considered an umbrella species, can also protect critical habitat for mule deer. Scientists found that sage grouse ...
Marking High-Risk Fences Saves Sage Grouse
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Marking High-Risk Fences Saves Sage Grouse

Marking fences for visibility can dramatically reduce sage grouse collisions. A new mapping tool can help managers and landowners target those fences that pose the highest ...
Wildfire and Cheatgrass: New Science Helps Reduce Threats to Sage Grouse
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Wildfire and Cheatgrass: New Science Helps Reduce Threats to Sage Grouse

Wildfires and the invasion of exotic annual grasses like cheatgrass can transform large expanses of sagebrush habitat, which is bad for sage grouse. This new strategy serves ...
Private Lands Vital to Conserving Wet Areas for Sage Grouse Summer Habitat
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Private Lands Vital to Conserving Wet Areas for Sage Grouse Summer Habitat

An impressive 85% of leks (sage grouse breeding areas) cluster within six miles of wet summer habitats. Successful sage grouse conservation will hinge on cooperative ...
Predicting the Outcome of Wyoming’s Sage Grouse Conservation Strategy
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Predicting the Outcome of Wyoming’s Sage Grouse Conservation Strategy

This recent study by The Nature Conservancy, University of Wyoming and the Sage Grouse Initiative finds that Wyoming’s strategy, combined with targeted conservation ...
Conifer Removal Restores Sage Grouse Habitat
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Conifer Removal Restores Sage Grouse Habitat

Hundreds of thousands of acres of intact sagebrush lands--and the grouse that depend upon them--are threatened by invading conifers. SGI helps remove the threat to prevent ...
Science to Solution Series:  Marking High-Risk Fences Saves Sage Grouse
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Science to Solution Series: Marking High-Risk Fences Saves Sage Grouse

The Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI) regularly joins with its partners to fund and support science that is designed to help guide conservation solutions on the ground. Today, we ...
Technical Fact Sheet: Mapping Potential Ecosystem Resilience and Resistance for Sage Grouse
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Technical Fact Sheet: Mapping Potential Ecosystem Resilience and Resistance for Sage Grouse

Science Technical Fact Sheet: Mapping Potential Ecosystem Resilience and Resistance across Sage-Grouse Range using Soil Temperature and Moisture Regimes A recent ...