SageCon Technical Resources
The Rangeland Sustainability Program at the Institute for Natural Resources develops and compiles technical tools and resources to support rangeland management in Oregon and beyond.
Hot New Tech
Check out the latest featured tools and science!
The SageCon tech transfer network is focused on promoting tools and resources that can help restoration specialists develop projects adn monitor outcomes.
Ecostate Maps and the SageCon Landscape Planning Tool
Threat-Based Ecostate Maps apply the power of satellite imagery and machine learning to the concepts of Threat-Based Land Management.
Threat-Based Ecostate Maps provide a spatial depiction of sagebrush rangeland condition across public and private land in eastern Oregon and across the sagebrush biome. Ecostate maps are based on the principles of Threat-Based Land Management (Johnson et al 2019) as a framework to identify and address the primary large scale drivers of ecosystem change in the northern Great Basin: invasive annual grasses, conifer encroachment, and wildfire. Change over time is captured from circa 1990 to present, with map updates each year.
Data access and summarization tools:
As of spring 2024, ecostate maps are available across the entire sagebrush biome! View the most recent map and many other datasets through the SageCon Landscape Planning Tool, and harness the power of the time series using the Ecostate Summarization Tool function, which produces tables and charts summarizing ecostates for a customized, user-defined area of interest and time frame.
Technical Resources and Guidance
The Rangeland Assessment and Management Tools resource page compiles a wide range of technical resources geared toward using technology to improve rangeland management, including:
Practical guidance for using remotely sensed maps in rangeland management, and examples of using maps to streamline field data collection and guide cross-boundary collaboration.
Information about threat-based land management and its applications in Oregon, including the newly released Ecostate Time Series maps depicting change in vegetation condition over time.
Tracking Progress and Monitoring Success
The SageCon Dashboard provides a snapshot of the status and trends of sagebrush rangeland condition, sage-grouse populations, and collaborative conservation in southeastern Oregon.
Data and information has been compiled for southeastern Oregon related to rangeland condition, sage-grouse populations, development trends, and conservation actions. This data is presented in the SageCon Dashboard, along with more detailed information about Rangeland Vegetation Condition and Conservation Actions. Current work is focusing on using this information to inform adaptive management of the Sage-Grouse Action Plan. Updates to the SageCon Dashboard are planned in late 2024.
Contact INR’s Rangeland Sustainability Team with questions or for technical support:
Megan Creutzburg: megan.creutzburg@oregonstate.edu
Dylan O’Leary: dylan.oleary@oregonstate.edu