Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU

archived

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research to develop and refine population and habitat models to inform conservation and management of grouse populations, including Greater and Gunnison Sage-grouse (sage-grouse) and ptarmigan, and the habitats that support them. Recent decisions (2016) and future evaluations (2021) by Fish and Wildlife Service regarding sage-grouse, revision of land-management plans (federal agencies) and priorities in wildlife management plans (state agencies), and changing climate conditions, elevate the information needs of planners and managers. Specifically, practical information regarding grouse populations and the ecology and management of the shrub and grassland ecosystems that support them are needed to guide management decisions. For example, extensive data representing sage-grouse populations has been collected by multiple entities across the species¿ range and assembling this information for consistent interpretation and application is essential for long-term conservation success. Specifically, understanding spatial relations among sub-populations, including movements among sub-populations and functional relationships among sub-populations that affect population estimates; metapopulation dynamics and implications of land-use; and how management within the spatial hierarchy of lands that populations and metapopulations (groups of sub-populations) utilize affect these populations, is needed to help guide land-use planning, habitat and wildlife management. Documentation of patterns and trends in ecosystem conditions, including restoration and treatment effects, is growing, and concepts and analyses that link these results to population dynamics are also needed.

High