Hot New Tech: Empowering SageCon partners to use science, technology and tools to improve management outcomes on the ground

Summer 2024

Mesic Prioritization

Mesic and riparian ecosystems in sagebrush country provide critical moisture in otherwise parched dryland environments, and mesic restoration is a focus for many partners. On April 16, SageCon hosted a webinar: Mesic prioritization at Trout Creek Ranch: tools for prioritizing mesic restoration across large landscapes. The webinar featured tools and a process for using a combination of remote sensing and field-based data to identify mesic restoration opportunities based on climate resilience and riparian condition at Trout Creek Ranch in southern Harney County.

Following the workshop, we worked with our team to produce a simple workflow for prioritizing mesic areas that can be used in other rangeland landscapes, with step-by-step instructions to follow the process and access to all data layers through the SageCon Landscape Planning Tool as a one-stop-shop. In particular, note that a new Late Season Productivity (NDVI) layer has been added to the Landscape Planning Tool, providing the finest-scale map of mesic features in Oregon’s rangelands to date, courtesy of the team at Climate Engine. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Summer 2024

Threat Based Ecostate Maps Update

Version 4

The Institute for Natural Resources has updated our Threat Based Ecostate Maps to version 4. Ecostate maps provide a generalized snapshot of rangeland condition and trend based on ecosystem-level threats from invasive annual grasses, wildfire, and conifer encroachment. Based on conversations with partners and following an accuracy assessment using field-based data, we are making some small changes to the maps, outlined below. It is important to note that version 4 of the Ecostate Maps will not be compatible/comparable to earlier versions due to the ruleset changes – be sure to re-download or re-summarize ecostate maps if you have used ecostate maps prior to July 2024. 

Ecostate maps can still be viewed and summarized over time in the SageCon Landscape Planning Tool, within Oregon and across the sagebrush biome (note that the ecostate summarization tool will be updated with these new maps in early August). See the ecostate storymap for more details and information on how to download the maps, and stay tuned for an upcoming OSU extension publication.  Contact Dylan O’Leary (dylan.oleary@oregonstate.edu) or Megan Creutzburg (megan.creutzburg@oregonstate.edu) with questions or feedback. 

Version 4 changes: 

  • Ecostate maps are now available across the sagebrush biome for all available years (1989-2023), and rangelands across the biome can be analyzed using the ecostate summarization tool within the SageCon Landscape Planning Tool (see below). Ecostate maps were developed to capture sagebrush systems in southeastern Oregon; use caution when applying these maps outside of the northern Great Basin and outside of areas of current or historic sagebrush steppe.  

  • Shrub cover threshold increase from 10% to 12% for all shrubland categories (A, A-C, and C) to improve overall accuracy and account for recent overestimation of shrub cover in the underlying datasets. After testing in multiple locations, 12% was chosen as the threshold that maximized map accuracy and captured known trends. As always, recognize that thresholds used in these maps are imperfect across the highly variable sagebrush ecosystem. 

  • Slightly different color scheme to better convey the relationships between ecostates, in particular changing state B-D to a color more similar to B. An alternative visualization option (in a layer file available upon request) may be more conducive for users with common types of colorblindness. 

  • Juniper: low-mid cover & Juniper: high cover renamed to Trees: low-mid cover & Trees: high cover to reflect the fact that these ecostates cover all areas with trees, not just juniper. Also note that a new Conifer Threat Map is available on the Landscape Planning Tool to complement the ecostate map with more information in areas with conifer encroachment. 

  • Forests and woodlands will no longer be masked out. Instead, they will be included in the Trees: high cover category. Areas excluded from mapping are urban, agriculture, and barren areas. 

  • Simplified attributes table for ease of use. 

Winter 2024

Oregon Rangeland Monitoring Program

In an era where rangeland restoration activities are occurring at an unprecedented rate, the Oregon Rangeland Monitoring Program (ORMP) is a collaborative effort to measure and communicate the outcomes of restoration treatments across public and private lands.

Using the skillsets of a diverse stakeholder and expert group, ORMP includes guidance on where to place monitoring plots, a rapid and standardized data collection protocol and mobile platform, and a summary of treatment outcomes in a customizable web-based dashboard. Find out more on the ORMP website.

Fall 2023

New StoryMap Brings Ecostate Maps to Life

The Institute for Natural Resources helps bring threat-based ecostate maps to life with a StoryMap explaining how the maps are built, how they are used, and how to access data.

Even better, you can now download a georeferenced PDF of the most recent ecostate map for counties in southeastern Oregon - allowing you to display the ecostate map on your mobile device relative to your location as you move through the range (click on the QR codes toward the bottom of the StoryMap). We field tested the Lake County ecostate map in the southern Warner Mountains during the 2024 SageCon Summit field tour and found that it captured vegetation conditions in the area with relatively high accuracy.

For more information, technical support, or to provide feedback on the accuracy of ecostate maps in your area, contact Dylan O’Leary: dylan.oleary@oregonstate.edu.

SageCon Technical Trainings and Workshops

Fall 2023

SageCon wants to keep you updated on the most impactful and actionable science and technology to guide your work. We periodically host technical trainings and events - keep up to date on the haps from our SageCon events page.

In 2024, the Institute for Natural Resources, OSU extension, and Agricultural Research Service started a series of Threat-Based Strategic Conservation workshops with local collaborative groups in Oregon, including the Prineville, Lakeview and Burns Local Implementation Teams. These workshops provide a hands-on, interactive process to facilitate landscape-scale, proactive planning in complex local landscapes - with the goal of helping our partners develop their own science-informed but locally-derived spatial strategy to defend and grow the core.

Featured Tool:
SageCon Landscape Planning Tool

The SageCon Landscape Planning Tool was developed by the Rangeland Sustainability Program at the Institute for Natural Resources to help SageCon partners conduct coordinated planning across rangelands in eastern Oregon. The tool allows users to view datasets through an interactive map, download data, and summarize ecostate maps through the Ecostate Summarization Tool. It currently includes dozens of curated datasets, including:

  • Rangeland vegetation data, including ecostate maps, vegetation cover of major plant functional groups, conifer threat, post-fire likelihood of annual grass invasion, and others

  • Conservation and restoration actions taken on public land, including efforts to control invasive species, reduce fuels, and others

  • Wildlife habitat datasets for sage-grouse and other sagebrush steppe species

  • Previous and current fire perimeters and fire risk

  • Water-related datasets, including springs, streams, and late-season mesic productivity

  • Management boundaries for reference

Summer 2024

Spring 2023

Featured Science Synthesis: Storing Carbon in Rangelands

Recent federal and state policy has focused increasingly on storing carbon in natural and working landscapes to keep carbon out of the atmosphere, and the vast expanses of rangelands in southeastern Oregon hold potential for securing carbon in intact sagebrush steppe vegetation communities and soils. Our partners at the Intermountain West Joint Venture recently synthesized the most recent science and information on rangeland carbon storage in their report and outreach materials on Storing Carbon on Sagebrush Rangelands. Spoiler alert: many of the management actions already being taken to protect healthy and intact sagebrush steppe from landscape-scale threats also maximize carbon storage. Check out IWJV’s Partners in the Sage website for more great content relevant to western rangeland conservation.