Ecostate Maps on 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
These maps provide a snapshot of sagebrush rangeland conditions across public and private lands, were built in eastern Oregon and now cover the entire 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 increased wildfire frequency. The maps capture change from circa 1990 to present, with annual updates.
Ecostate maps help us respond to the threats that are steadily eroding this biome. They show where sagebrush landscapes are still functioning well, where they’re in trouble and what threats are driving the change. With that information, land managers, conservationists and communities can make more strategic decisions to conserve and restore this vital ecosystem.
Data Access and Summarization
View the most recent (2024-2026) map and many other datasets through the SageCon Landscape Planning Tool, and use the Ecostate Summarization Tool to harness the power of the time series, producing tables and charts that summarize ecostates for a customized, user-defined area of interest and time frame. For direct data download, see the ecostate mapping webpage.
Take Ecostate Maps in the Field!
Use Avenza to add ecostate maps to your mobile device for reference in the field when you don’t have cell service. Access the most up-to-date maps through Oregon Explorer and use the QR codes to download maps for each county under the Ecostate Data Access section.
Ecostate Maps Version 4 Update
The Institute for Natural Resources maintains the utility of the Threat-Based Ecostate Maps through updates based on ongoing discussions with partners and accuracy assessments using field-based data. The most recent update was completed in August 2024, and the small changes are outlined below. Note: Ecostate Maps version 4 is not compatible/comparable to earlier versions due to the ruleset changes. For the most up-to-date and accurate comparisons, re-download or re-summarize Ecostate Maps if you are referencing date layers with ecostates generated prior to July 2024.
Version 4 updates:
Ecostate maps are now available across the sagebrush biome for all available years (1989-2026), and rangelands across the biome can be analyzed using the ecostate summarization tool within the SageCon Landscape Planning Tool. 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 increased 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.
Trees: low-mid cover & Trees: high cover replaced the name Juniper: low-mid cover & Juniper: high cover to reflect that ecostates map all areas with trees, not just juniper. Also note that a new Pinyon Juniper Threat Map (RAP S2 2025) is available on the Landscape Planning Tool to complement the ecostate map with more information in areas with conifer encroachment.
Forests and woodlands are now included in the Trees: high cover category (in version 3, they were masked out). Areas excluded from mapping are urban, agriculture, and barren areas.
Simplified attributes table for ease of use.