Designing Regional Fuel Breaks to Protect Large Remnant
Tracts of Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat in Parts of Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and
Utah
The loss of sagebrush-steppe habitat to uncharacteristically
large and frequent wildfires has been identified as the primary threat to
greater sage grouse populations in the western part of the species’ range. To
help federal and state agencies reduce the impact of large wildfires, the
authors developed a GIS protocol for identifying strategic locations for fuel
breaks to protect remaining large patches of habitat.
Citation: Welch, N., Provencher, L., Unnasch, R.S.,
Anderson, T. and McRae, B. (2015) “Designing Regional Fuel Breaks to Protect
Large Remnant Tracts of Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat in Parts of Idaho, Nevada,
Oregon, and Utah.” Final Report to the Western Association of Fish &
Wildlife Agencies, Contract Number SG-C-13-02. The Nature Conservancy, Reno,
NV.
The geodatabase for this project will be posted on the USGS website; the Great
Basin Fire Sciences Exchange website (http://www.gbfiresci.org/) may have the link before it is posted here.