SageCon Summit 2023

Moving the Needle on Sagebrush

Conservation by Working

Proactively Across Boundaries

Day 1: SageCon Summit Meeting

September 26, 8 am - 5 pm

Veterans Memorial Hall, Lakeview, Oregon

8:30  Welcome and introduction to SageCon

  • Welcome from local partners - Barry Shullanberger, Lake County Commissioner and Todd Forbes, Bureau of Land Management

  • What is SageCon and how is it evolving? - Rachael Davee, SageCon Partnership

9:00  Moving the needle on sagebrush and sage-grouse conservation: Putting some big ideas into practice - We will kick off the Summit by hearing some cutting-edge ideas about what it takes to proactively and strategically conserve sagebrush and sage-grouse in Oregon.

  • Panel introduction: What are the big ideas that can set us up for durable, landscape-scale success? - Megan Creutzburg, Institute for Natural Resources

10:45  Break

11:15  Highlighting collaborative work from around the range in Oregon - We will hear from local partners in Baker County and Malheur County on their most exciting ongoing and upcoming projects.

12:15  Lunch (provided)

1:15  Threat-based strategic conservation mini-workshop - In this mini-workshop we will learn to apply the concepts of threat-based strategic conservation and walk through a hands-on interactive mapping exercise for the area we will be visiting in the field tour.

  • Threat-based strategic conservation primer: context, concepts, and principles for strategic conservation - Megan Creutzburg, Institute for Natural Resources; Vanessa Schroeder & Katie Wollstein, Oregon State University Extension; Chad Boyd, Agricultural Research Service

  • Tools for strategic conservation: threat-based ecostate mapping and the SageCon Landscape Planning Tool - Dylan O’Leary, Institute for Natural Resources

  • Interactive mapping exercise: viewing Lake County through the lens of threat-based strategic conservation

2:45  Break

3:15  Working across boundaries in Lake County - Partners in Lake County will showcase the spirit of collaboration that has propelled some of the most successful projects in the state.

Presentations:

  • Restoration at Hart-Sheldon Refuges with a highlight on sage-grouse projects and populations - Kim Haab and Kevin Goldie, US Fish & Wildlife Service

  • Ranching in sage-grouse country- John O’Keeffe, Rancher, Adel, OR

  • Weed prevention in Lake County - Justin Jaeger, Cooperative Weed Management Area

  • Discussion panel - Experiences from the South Warner Project: What is success and where do we go now? Panelists: Todd Forbes & Grace Haskins, Lakeview Bureau of Land Management; Brandi St. Clair, Lakeview Soil & Water Conservation District; John O’Keeffe, Rancher; Autumn Muir, Lake County Umbrella Watershed Council

4:45  Closing remarks - We will round out the first day by revisiting our Summit themes and what’s next for SageCon

6:00 Dinner - Join us for a delicious meal and a chance to spend time with partners from other geographies

SageCon Summit 2023

Thank you to those who joined us for the 8th Annual Summit in Lakeview, September 26-27th. Below you will see the agenda, a recording of the presentations and links to the presenters slides.

Day 2: Field Tour

September 27, 8 am- 4 pm Pacific time

This all-day field tour will highlight the work that our partners in Lake County have been doing and help us to understand the opportunities and challenges that land managers face as they restore habitats and increase resiliency against fire, annual grass invasion, and conifer encroachment. Sack lunches will be provided.

8:00- Meet at the Lakeview BLM office 1301 S G St, Lakeview, OR 97630

We will gather in the parking lot and consolidate vehicles or board a school bus and then travel east to some of the best sage steppe ecosystems in Lake County. The tour will highlight projects that were developed across public and private boundaries and offer lessons learned through long-term, focused investments.

  • Stop 1: Big Valley Road - Overview of the South Warner Project

  • Stop 2: Long Canyon Draw - Juniper treatments and lessons learned, cultural resource preservation

  • Stop 3: Pope Springs - Discussion with CCAA enrolled rancher John O’Keefe and Brandi St. Clair (Lakeview Soil & Water Conservation District); eat lunch

  • Stop 4: Big Valley Overlook - determining additional treatments, building retreatments into conservation planning

  • Stop 5: Sage Hen Crossing - improvement of mesic sites for sage-grouse summer habitat. 

4:00 - Return to Lakeview BLM office

Previous SageCon Summits

Review past SageCon Summits and the resources below: