Innovations in machine learning and cloud‐based computing were merged with historical remote sensing and field data to provide the first moderate resolution, annual, percent cover maps of plant functional types across rangeland ecosystems to effectively and efficiently respond to pressing challenges facing conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. We utilized the historical Landsat satellite record, gridded meteorology, abiotic land surface data, and over 30,000 field plots within a Random Forests model to predict per‐pixel percent cover of annual forbs and grasses, perennial forbs and grasses, shrubs, and bare ground over the western United States from 1984 to 2017. Results were validated using three independent collections of plot‐level measurements, and resulting maps display land cover variation in response to changes in climate, disturbance, and management. The maps, which will be updated annually at the end of each year, provide exciting opportunities to expand and improve rangeland conservation, monitoring, and management. The data open new doors for scientific investigation at an unprecedented blend of temporal fidelity, spatial resolution, and geographic scale.

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Private lands in the American West are undergoing a land‐use conversion from agriculture to exurban development, although little is known about the ecological consequences of this change. Some nongovernmental organizations are working with ranchers to keep their lands out of development and in ranching, ostensibly because they believe biodiversity is better protected on ranches than on exurban developments. However, there are several assumptions underlying this approach that have not been tested. To better inform conservation efforts, we compared avian, mesopredator, and plant communities across the gradient of intensifying human uses from nature reserves to cattle ranches to exurban developments. We conducted surveys at randomly selected points on each type of land use in one Colorado watershed between May and August of 2000 and 2001. Seven bird species, characterized as human commensals or tree nesters, reached higher densities ( all p < 0.02 ) on exurban developments than on either ranches or reserves. Six bird species, characterized as ground and shrub nesters, reached greater densities ( all p < 0.015 ) on ranches, reserves, or both of these types of land use than on exurban developments. Domestic dogs ( Canis familiaris ) and house cats (  Felis catus ) were encountered almost exclusively on exurban developments, whereas coyotes ( Canis latrans ) were detected more frequently ( p = 0.047 ) on ranchlands than exurban developments. Ranches had plant communities with higher native species richness and lower non‐native species richness and cover than did the other types of land use ( all p < 0.10 ). Our results support the notion that ranches are important for protecting biodiversity and suggest that future conservation efforts may require less reliance on reserves and a greater focus on private lands.

Using resistance and resilience concepts to reduce impacts of invasive annual grasses and altered fire regimes on the sagebrush ecosystem and greater sage-grouse: A strategic multi-scale approach.