Habitat Use Informs Species Needs and Management: A Reply to Maestas et al.

Clark, Darren A.; Coe, Priscilla K.; Gregory, Sara C.; Hedrick, Mary Jo; Johnson, Bruce K.; Jackson, Dewaine H.

doi:10.1002/jwmg.21671

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…This result may provide additional context for the ongoing debate regarding sage-steppe habitat improvement efforts, and the question as to whether pinyon-juniper removal efforts are resulting in widespread loss of habitat for pinyon-juniper woodland-associated species (Boone et al 2018;Coe et al 2018; and is also made available for use under a CC0 license. Maestas et al 2019;Clark et al 2019). More broadly, our optimization results suggest an abundance of opportunities for sagebrush habitat restoration in areas outside pinyon jay strongholds (Figures 1 & 5).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…Considered together, these results should indicate that the ongoing management of encroaching conifer woodlands in sagebrush ecosystems across the intermountain west is largely avoiding areas that may be particularly important for pinyon jay. This result may provide additional context for the ongoing debate regarding sage-steppe habitat improvement efforts, and the question as to whether pinyon-juniper removal efforts are resulting in widespread loss of habitat for pinyon-juniper woodland-associated species (Boone et al 2018; Coe et al 2018; Maestas et al 2019; Clark et al 2019). More broadly, our optimization results suggest an abundance of opportunities for sagebrush habitat restoration in areas outside pinyon jay strongholds (Figures 1 & 5).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…While sage-grouse – acting as a focal-species driver of sagebrush ecosystem restoration has been beneficial for a number of species, it is also important to consider the possible non-target negative impacts of what has effectively been an umbrella species approach to management (Rowland et al 2006, Zeller et al 2021). Indeed, there has been an ongoing debate regarding whether pinyon-juniper removal efforts in support of sage-steppe improvement projects is resulting in substantial loss of pinyon-juniper woodlands, and negatively impacting woodland-associated species (Boone et al 2018; Coe et al 2018; Maestas et al 2019; Clark et al 2019, Zeller et al 2021). A recent review (Bombaci and Pejchar 2016) found little overall negative impact of conifer removal on woodland associate species, but data were lacking for some taxa, particularly invertebrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optimizing targeting of pinyon-juniper management for sagebrush birds of conservation concern while avoiding imperiled pinyon jay

Reinhardt

Tack

Maestas³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Contemporary restoration and management of sagebrush-dominated (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems across the intermountain west of the United States increasingly involves the removal of expanding conifer, particularly juniper (Juniperus spp.) and pinyon pine (Pinus edulis, P. monophylla). The impetus behind much of this management has been the demonstrated population benefits of sagebrush restoration via conifer removal to greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a species of conservation concern. One of the challenges with scaling up from a focal-species approach to a community-level perspective, however, is balancing the habitat requirements of different species, some of which may overlap with sage-grouse and others which may have competing habitat needs. Here, we use a systematic conservation planning approach to compute spatial optimizations which prioritize areas for conifer removal across the sage-grouse range while incorporating woodland and sagebrush songbirds into decision-making. Three of the songbirds considered here, Brewer's sparrow (Spizella breweri), green-tailed towhee (Pipilo chlorurus), and sage thrasher (Poocetes gramineus), are sagebrush-obligates, while another is a woodland-obligate, the pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus). We find that the inclusion of sagebrush-obligates expands the model-selected area of consideration for conifer management, likely because habitat overlap between sagebrush-obligates is imperfect. The inclusion of pinyon jay, a woodland-obligate, resulted in substantial shifts in the distribution of model-selected priority areas for conifer removal - particularly away from pinyon jay strongholds in Nevada and east-central California. Finally, we compared the conifer optimizations created here with estimates of ongoing conifer removal efforts across the intermountain west and find that a small proportion (13-18%) of management efforts had occurred on areas predicted as being important for pinyon jay, suggesting that much of the ongoing work is already successfully avoiding critical pinyon jay habitat areas.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optimizing targeting of pinyon-juniper management for sagebrush birds of conservation concern while avoiding imperiled pinyon jay

Reinhardt

Tack

Maestas³

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Considered together, these results suggest that the ongoing management of encroaching conifer woodlands in sagebrush ecosystems across the intermountain west is largely avoiding areas that may be particularly important for pinyon jay. This result provides additional context for the ongoing debate regarding sage-steppe habitat improvement efforts, and the question as to whether pinyon-juniper removal efforts are resulting in widespread loss of habitat for pinyon-juniper woodland-associated species (Boone et al 2018; Coe et al 2018; Clark et al 2019; Maestas et al 2019). More broadly, our optimization results suggest an abundance of opportunities for sagebrush habitat restoration in areas outside pinyon jay strongholds (see Figs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…While sage-grouse—acting as a focal-species driver of sagebrush ecosystem restoration—has been beneficial for a number of species, it is also important to consider the possible nontarget negative impacts of what has effectively been an umbrella species approach to management (Rowland et al 2006; Zeller et al 2021). Indeed, there has been an ongoing debate regarding whether pinyon-juniper removal efforts in support of sage-steppe improvement projects is resulting in substantial loss of pinyon-juniper woodlands and negatively impacting woodland-associated species (Boone et al 2018; Coe et al 2018; Clark et al 2019; Maestas et al 2019; Zeller et al 2021). A recent review (Bombaci and Pejchar 2016) found little overall negative impact of conifer removal on woodland associate species, but data were lacking for some taxa, particularly invertebrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing Targeting of Pinyon-Juniper Management for Sagebrush Birds of Conservation Concern While Avoiding Imperiled Pinyon Jay

Reinhardt¹,

Tack²,

Maestas³

et al. 2023

Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Black-Tailed and Mule Deer

Larsen,

McMillan

2023

Rangeland Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

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Black-tailed and mule deer (both designated as Odocoileus hemionus; hereafter referred to as “deer” or “mule deer”) comprise an iconic species that is broadly distributed across western North America. This species occurs in all rangeland types including grasslands, desert shrublands, forests, savannah woodlands, and even portions of tundra. The distribution of mule deer has changed little since Euro-American settlement, but abundance has fluctuated in response to environmental variation and rangeland management practices. These deer are medium-sized, polygynous mammals classified as generalist herbivores (foregut fermenters). Population growth in this species is strongly influenced by survival of adult females and recruitment of young. The management of rangelands has direct influence on deer populations given the wide distribution of this species and measurable responses to rangeland management practices. Rangeland management practices including development of water, grazing by domestic livestock, prescribed fire, energy extraction, vegetation alteration, and others can have positive or negative influences or both on this species. Although mule deer are widely distributed and relatively abundant, conservation of this species is challenged by rapid changes currently occurring on rangelands of western North America. Altered fire regimes due to climate change and invasive plants, competition (with feral horses [Equus ferus caballus], livestock, and other wild ungulates), development of energy, ex-urban and urban expansion, and many other challenges threaten continued abundance of this species. Rangelands and their associated management will continue to play a disproportionally large role in the conservation of mule deer in the future.

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Habitat Use Informs Species Needs and Management: A Reply to Maestas et al.

Cited by 3 publications

References 42 publications

Optimizing targeting of pinyon-juniper management for sagebrush birds of conservation concern while avoiding imperiled pinyon jay

Optimizing targeting of pinyon-juniper management for sagebrush birds of conservation concern while avoiding imperiled pinyon jay

Optimizing Targeting of Pinyon-Juniper Management for Sagebrush Birds of Conservation Concern While Avoiding Imperiled Pinyon Jay

Black-Tailed and Mule Deer

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