An Ecosystems Balancing Act
Strategic conifer removal efforts do not pit sagebrush ecosystems against woodland ecosystems. Thoughtful conifer management in sagebrush country addresses woody plant encroachment where appropriate and desired, while balancing resource concerns surrounding woodlands and wildlife at the landscape scale.
Is It a Woodland? A Shrubland? It Could Be Either!
The sagebrush to woodland ecotone is dynamic. Tree- and shrub-dominated patches occur in an ever-changing landscape mosaic driven by soils, climate, and disturbances. Over millennia, trees have generally expanded their footprint during moist periods and when disturbance, like wildfire, are low. Their footprint has contracted during hot and dry periods or after large-scale disturbances.
In many places, answering the question, “Should this be a woodland or a sagebrush rangeland?” is challenging; many sites have soil and climate conditions that could support either plant community.
Ecotones, where two adjacent biological communities meet, often harbor many species and resource values. Across the West, the ecotone between sagebrush and woodland communities looks different, but these areas provide important ecosystem services and harbor different wildlife species.
From left to right, different community types meet across the biome: Utah juniper and sagebrush near Meeker, CO; Western juniper and sagebrush in the Steens Mountains, OR (photo: Greg Shine, BLM); Single-leaf pinyon and sagebrush near Bridgeport, CA; Douglas fir and sagebrush near Dillon, MT.
Prioritization Yields Diverse Landscape Benefits
A particular point on the landscape cannot support all resource values. In other words, it can’t be both a healthy sagebrush habitat and a healthy woodland habitat. Landscape-scale prioritization can ensure that many resources are represented and managed across larger spatial areas.
Local data such as soil types, ecological site descriptions, disturbance history, historical imagery, wildlife habitat or occupancy information, and landscape context must inform the prioritization of conifer removal and management objectives.
With limited time and resources, tree removal projects that include sagebrush ecosystem goals must be strategic and targeted. That means focusing on areas where the greatest benefits will be to sagebrush or sagebrush-dependent species while balancing potential impacts on adjacent ecosystems and species.
Spotlight on Pinyon Jay
If you hear a cacophony originating from a pinyon-juniper woodland, a flock of pinyon jays may be nearby. A species of concern across the Intermountain West, the pinyon jay relies on both sagebrush shrublands and woodland vegetation throughout its life cycle.
Strategically managing woody plant encroachment in the pinyon jay range requires understanding how the species uses both shrublands and woodlands and how management actions may impact these ecosystems and the ecotone between them. Information on this topic is growing, and managers are weighing how to accomplish sagebrush conservation priorities without harming pinyon jays.
A Recipe for Success
Conifer removal efforts will be most successful where people are ready to participate in conservation and where policies and funding support their goals.
Managing conifer encroachment at watershed scales requires coalitions of motivated community partners and landowners strategically working together across boundaries.
This involves assessing not only the ecological importance of an area within a larger landscape context, but also the social capacity (land manager willingness) and administrative conditions (policies or funding) needed to address conifer encroachment at scale.
Some areas may have all the ingredients to be ready for action today, while others may need to first invest in addressing cultural, social, and administrative barriers.
