Tag: habitat restoration
Ask an Expert | The Green Glacier: What is Conifer Encroachment and Why is it Bad?
June 22, 2021
Learn about the “Green Glacier,” the slow-moving expansion of conifer trees across western rangelands, in this Ask an Expert with NRCS’s Jeremy Maestas.
Ask an Expert | Curtis Elke, Idaho-NRCS State Conservationist, Talks Cheatgrass and More
September 1, 2020
The Cheatgrass Challenge is a new, proactive strategy outlining Idaho NRCS’s plans to tackle invasive annual grasses. Read on for an interview with the NRCS State Conservationists for Idaho, Curtis Elke. Across the West, annual invasive grasses like cheatgrass, medusa head, and ventenata are posing serious threats to rangeland health, wildlife populations, and rural communities. […]
Cutting to the Chase: Long-Term Success of Conifer Removal Depends on Both Cutting and Burning
September 10, 2019
Ask an Expert | How to use cutting and burning to most effectively restore sagebrush ecosystems experiencing conifer encroachment.
Big Picture of Woodland Management in Sagebrush Country
May 9, 2019
Science to Solutions – New research highlights reduction and expansion of conifer encroachment in sagebrush ecosystems.
Woody Invasion Impacts Water on Great Plains
March 26, 2019
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 sagebrush lands from encroaching conifers like pinyon juniper.
Low-Tech Riparian And Meadow Restoration Keeps Rangelands Greener Longer
October 8, 2018
New research shows low-tech restoration methods increased vegetation productivity by 25% and kept plants greener longer, resulting in greater resiliency.
Why Is Cheatgrass Bad?
January 30, 2018
Mike Pellant with the Bureau of Land Management explains how cheatgrass and wildfire create a vicious cycle that harms wildlife and our way of life in the West … and gives solutions that are helping to reduce these threats.
New Science: When Trees Are Cut, Grasses & Shrubs Return
November 14, 2017
Research shows that conifers decrease the native sagebrush grasses and shrubs that wildlife and livestock rely on, and confirms that forage comes back when trees are removed.
COOL GREEN SCIENCE | The Stream Whisperer Restores Sage Grouse Habitat
August 23, 2017
by Brianna Randall | Bill Zeedyk teaches Westerners how to “think like water” to restore precious wet habitat in the sagebrush desert.
Conifer Removal Boosts Sage Grouse Success
January 26, 2017
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 habitat is a boon to nesting sage grouse.