Annual SageCon Summit

Lynn Larsen

The SageCon Summit serves as a vital gathering for partners committed to building resilience in Oregon's sagebrush rangelands and the broader Great Basin region. Recognizing that no single agency or organization can address landscape-scale challenges alone, the Summit brings together diverse stakeholders working to create resilience in the sage steppe community.

The Summit's purpose aligns with the SageCon Partnership’s mission to support the ecology, economics, and society of Oregon's desert landscapes. As these regions face mounting pressures from wildfire, invasive annual grasses, and drought, the Summit provides a critical platform to foster the collaborative solutions needed for long-term sustainability.

At the annual Summit, participants:

  • Connect with partners working toward resilient rangelands in southeastern Oregon and across the Great Basin

  • Share information, ideas and resources to leverage collective knowledge

  • Inspire action to work proactively across boundaries and support locally-led collaborative efforts

By creating a supportive, enabling environment for strategic on-the-ground actions, the SageCon Summit embodies the Partnership's belief that the most durable solutions emerge when stakeholders work together across boundaries, combining communication, technical expertise, funding strategies, and shared priorities to build a more resilient future for sagebrush rangelands.

2026 SageCon Summit

September 29 and 30th, 2026

Elks Lodge, Burns, Oregon

Registration is now open for the 11th annual SageCon Summit. This year, we will hear updates on sage-grouse populations and management objectives from researchers and agency partners; we will hear about the response to 2026 fires and learn about post-fire restoration. After lunch, partners from Harney County will share stories about restoration projects, and then we will zoom out to hear presentations on rangeland restoration tools and techniques.

Day 1: SageCon Summit

‍ ‍ Partnership Meeting 8:30 - 4 pm

Film Screening 4:30 - 6 pm

Dinner 6:30 pm

Partnership Meeting Agenda:

* Subject to change

8:30 Grab coffee and a light breakfast

9:00 Welcome and introduction to Summit 2026

We will be welcomed to Harney County by familiar ambassadors who will orient us to the shared benefits and challenges we face as we work on tough problems in Oregon’s High Desert.

Jason Kesling, Harney SWCD; Representative Mark Owens; and Chad Boyd; USDA Ag Research Station

Session 1- Oregon Sage-Grouse Conservation Update

Rooted in the Sagebrush: Lessons, Longevity, and 20 Years of Conservation Efforts; Christian Hagen, Oregon State University

Oregon Sage-Grouse Population Update, 2026; Skyler Vold, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

BLM Sage Steppe Updates 2026; Chris Domschke, Oregon-Washington BLM

10:30 Networking break

Session 2- Management on the Ground:  Updates from LITs, wildlife and land managers rangeland and wildlife management projects

Oregon’s Local Implementation Teams; Priscilla Doan

Drought Relief Through Targeted Juniper Removal in the Drewsey Area; Skyler Hickey, Burns BLM

Pygmy Rabbit Distribution in Oregon; Kaly Adkins, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Mesic Restoration on Trout Creek Ranch; Brooke Gray, Oregon Desert Land Trust; Jessie Griffen, The Nature Conservancy

12:30  Lunch - Provided to registered attendees

Session 3: Fire, Fuels and Restoration

Recapping RFPA fire responses in 2026; Allison Rayburn and RFPA member

Fire Recovery Planning in Action; Lisa Foster, OSU Extension Service

Strategic IAG management: What is it, why does it matter, and how do you do it?; Chad Boyd, USDA Agricultural Research Station

Incorporating Perspectives on Fuels Management into Rangeland Planning; Katie Woolstein, OSU Extension Service

2:45 Networking Break

Session 4: Pre- and Post-Fire Restoration and Monitoring

Oregon Rangeland Monitoring Program; Jackie Cupples, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Growing a Sage Steppe Native Seed Hub; Emily Zamarripa, OSU Cascades

Evaluating Treatment Durability in Sage Steppe: What do we want to understand from the fires this year? Lisa Ellsworth, Sage Step, Oregon State University

Invasive annual grass management with pre-emergent herbicides – important considerations to improve success; Kirk Davies, USDA Agricultural Research Station

Wrap up

4:00 pm Meeting Close

4:30 pm - Film Screening and Panel Discussion

Desert Historic Theatre

The Caldera: Life on the Lithium Frontier

After the day of presentations, we will move next door to the Desert Historic Theatre for a premier screening of Sean Grasso’s film, The Caldera: Life on The Lithium Frontier. The film takes us to the McDermitt Caldera, where one of the world’s largest lithium deposits is being explored by multiple mining companies. As competing visions for the future converge, a deeper question emerges: who decides what this landscape is worth, and who bears the cost?

After the 53-minute film, High Desert Partnership will facilitate a panel discussion with people who live in the area.

This event is free to the public, and you do not need to be registered for the Summit to attend the screening.

6:30 pm Catered Dinner

Central Hotel for registered SageCon Summit attendees

Day 2: Soil Health Workshop

September 30th, 8:00 am- 4 pm PDT

Virtual option avaliable for the morning

Come kick some dirt with us during this hands‑on workshop that aims to help ranchers, land managers, practitioners, and natural resource professionals learn practical and quick skills for use in the field. Through a mix of short expert talks and hands-on field training, participants will explore the core components of rangeland soil health, including biotic integrity, soil stability, and hydrologic function, and learn how these processes shape, and are shaped by, management decisions and disturbances. The morning will introduce key concepts, including nutrient and water cycles, plant–soil interactions, the effects of fire and invasive annual grasses, and principles for improving soil function. The afternoon field stations will bring these ideas to life, giving participants the chance to use simple tools to observe and assess soil properties including infiltration, stability, and to examine root and microbial communities, to connect soil‑health principles to real‑world management challenges in sagebrush country. Whether you are just curious about soil health or an experienced natural resource professional looking to deepen your understanding, this workshop offers practical, accessible tools for making more informed, soil‑conscious decisions on rangelands.

Please register below to attend this event as part of the SageCon Summit or as a standalone workshop.

Register Now!

Hotels:

Burns has many wonderful local options for hotels, including the Horseshoe Inn,  The Central Hotel, Bon Temps Suites, and more. There is a room block with government rates at the Rory and Ryan’s Best Western. Call (541) 573-5050 and reference the SageCon Summit. Rate available through 8/30.

Harney County has much to explore, and we encourage you to check out the awesome local resources through This is Harney.

This free event is sponsored by

Previous SageCon Summits

Review past SageCon Summits and the resources below: