Developing Grazing Guidelines for Fuels Management in Sagebrush Ecosystems: Implications for Wildlife Habitat and Soil Conservation

Sagebrush dominated ecosystems cover vast areas of the West (770,000 square miles), providing Habitat for many wildlife species that require sagebrush to complete their lifecycle. Species include the pronghorn antelope, pygmy rabbit, sage thrasher, sage sparrow, Brewer’s sparrow, sagebrush lizard and the greater sage‐grouse which is proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act. One of the greatest threats to sagebrush ecosystems is wildland fire which engulfs increasingly large areas of sagebrush converting these shrub‐dominated ecosystems to grasslands. Wildland fire in sagebrush ecosystems severely degrades Habitat value for sagebrush obligate species and makes areas susceptible to soil erosion and invasion by exotic plants. Land management strategies to reduce the extent and severity of wildfires require integrated and landscape‐scale approaches. Targeted livestock grazing is considered a practice that can alter and reduce wildfire fuel loads in sagebrush ecosystems. The time is right to summarize anecdotal evidence, conduct field demonstrations, develop grazing guidelines for fuels management and empower land managers to apply targeted grazing as a tool to reduce the impacts of wildfire on wildlife Habitat in sagebrush ecosystems. The anticipated environmental outcome is widespread adaptation and implementation of innovative targeted grazing practices to manage wildfire in sagebrush steppe for wildlife Habitat conservation.