Sagebrush Conservation | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

The western United States’ sagebrush country encompasses over 175 million acres of public and private lands.

Sagebrush country contains biological, cultural and economic resources of national significance. America’s sagebrush ecosystem is the largest contiguous ecotype in the continental United States, comprising one-third of the land mass of the continental lower 48. This landscape provides many benefits to our rural economies and communities, and it serves as crucial habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including the iconic greater sage-grouse and over 350 other species.

What We Do

Our Projects and Initiatives

For many years, the Fish and Wildlife Service has been conducting research, collaborating with partners, and supporting a landscape-wide conservation strategy to support a healthy sagebrush sagebrush
The western United States’ sagebrush country encompasses over 175 million acres of public and private lands. The sagebrush landscape provides many benefits to our rural economies and communities, and it serves as crucial habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including the iconic greater sage-grouse and over 350 other species.

Learn more about sagebrush ecosystem in the west.

Starting in FY22, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is a once-in-a-generation investment in the nation’s infrastructure and economic competitiveness. We were directly appropriated $455 million over five years in BIL funds for programs related to the President’s America the Beautiful initiative.

Learn more about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) has committed $10 million per year ($50 million over 5 years) to the Service to expand work with partners to restore and conserve strategic areas within the sagebrush ecosystem. These funds build on existing collaborative efforts by the Service and our public and private partners to conserve the sagebrush ecosystem and the significant biological, cultural, and economic resources it supports. These projects will combat invasive grasses and wildfire, reduce encroaching conifers, safeguard precious water resources for neighboring communities and wildlife, and promote community and economic sustainability. Read more about the Director's Priorities and BIL initiative: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funds Proven Projects for Wildlife

Find a Sagebrush Restoration Project Near You

Explore the Data Dashboard for FY22, FY23, FY24, and FY25 Projects

Screenshot of Sagebrush Dashboard landing page, with map outlining sagebrush biome

Image Details

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Image Details

The Grassland & Sagebrush Conservation Portal is an ArcGIS Online platform that provides access to maps, apps, data, documents, and other resources for practitioners working in grassland and sagebrush biomes.

More About What We Do

Latest Stories and Topics

Stories

small bird sitting on top of sagebrush with food in beak

Land Management

Ten Times More Birds

In the face of sagebrush habitat degradation, conservation researchers and managers are tasked with understanding how changes affect these dependent species across the range of the sagebrush ecosystem.

Oct 17, 2024

sagebrush and grasses in foreground of rolling hills with trees and mountains in background with soft blue sky

Our Partners

The Right Thing to Do

A new Sagebrush Conservation Design analysis of National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges gives managers support for actively combating threats like invasive annual grasses.

Oct 17, 2024

Habitat Restoration

Saving the Core from Cultivation

New research shows how investments like easements in the right places have the biggest bang for the conservation dollar.

Oct 17, 2024

Habitat Restoration

Nearly $10M for Collaborative Sagebrush Projects in the West

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced nearly $10 million in fiscal year 2025 funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support 53 strategic projects in Western states focused on habitat restoration and on-the-ground science, as well as for additional strategic...

Oct 8, 2024

Sagebrush covered hills and distant mountains

Habitat Restoration

New Story Map Highlights Conservation in Washington's Sagebrush Country

Take a tour of Washington state's sagebrush steppe and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law restoration projects.

Jul 26, 2024

presentor in classroom of students with map on screen

Climate Change

2023-2024 Sagebrush-Climate Training Report Out

Building upon the success of the 2022-2023 Climate Change and Climate Adaptation Training Series for Grasslands Practitioners, in 2023-2024 the Service with multiple US Geological Survey Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) to develop and deliver another climate adaptation training series...

Jul 8, 2024

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Work With Us

We work alongside other agencies, partners, non-profits, Tribes, landowners, programs, and the public to strategize, fund, and collaborate on sagebrush sagebrush
The western United States’ sagebrush country encompasses over 175 million acres of public and private lands. The sagebrush landscape provides many benefits to our rural economies and communities, and it serves as crucial habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including the iconic greater sage-grouse and over 350 other species.

Learn more about sagebrush conservation. Individual state fish and wildlife agencies have been, and continue to be, central to the implementation of work in sagebrush.

The Sagebrush Ecosystem is one of several programs that is receiving investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is a once-in-a-generation investment in the nation’s infrastructure and economic competitiveness. We were directly appropriated $455 million over five years in BIL funds for programs related to the President’s America the Beautiful initiative.

Learn more about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that helps local, state, and Tribal communities tackle the climate crisis and environmental restoration needs while advancing environmental justice, creating jobs, and boosting local economies.

View Careers & Internships

Projects and Research

Sagebrush ecosystem projects with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is a once-in-a-generation investment in the nation’s infrastructure and economic competitiveness. We were directly appropriated $455 million over five years in BIL funds for programs related to the President’s America the Beautiful initiative.

Learn more about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Listed alphabetically by State: California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and Rangewide

Project Name	Location	FY22 Funding	FY23 Funding	FY24 Funding	FY25 Funding
Bi-State Sagebrush Ecosystem Enhancement Project	CA	N/A	250,000	N/A	N/A
Bodie Hills Sagebrush Ecosystem Enhancement Project	CA	N/A	N/A	212,268	N/A
Conway Ranch Wet Meadow Enhancement Project	CA	N/A	82,000	N/A	N/A
Sage-Grouse Habitat Restoration through Wild Horse Management	CA	N/A	150,000	N/A	N/A
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Wet Meadow Restoration and Fence Removal, Inventory and Modification Work in Northwest Colorado	CO	N/A	N/A	151,800	N/A
Conserving Sagebrush Ecosystems on Working Lands: A Collaborative Project to Restore and Conserve Sagebrush Ecosystems	CO	N/A	N/A	N/A	294,717
Gunnison Basin Cheatgrass Implementation Project	CO	398,139	395,337	N/A	N/A
Gunnison Sage-grouse Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET)	CO	N/A	188,726	N/A	N/A
Pinyon Mesa Pinyon- Juniper Removal Implementation Project	CO	N/A	N/A	N/A	176,880
Restoration of San Luis Valley Mesic Habitat at Poncha Pass	CO	N/A	N/A	185,486	N/A
Restoration of Native Sagebrush Habitats from Cheatgrass Invasion in Northwestern Colorado (Phase 1)	CO	230,926	230,926	N/A	N/A
San Miguel Basin Wet Meadow Restoration Project	CO	N/A	N/A	261,216	N/A
Addressing Invasive Annual Grass in Sage-Grouse Core Areas in Idaho	ID	492,000	328,000	150,146	N/A
East Idaho Uplands Sagebrush Habitat Improvement	ID	N/A	N/A	N/A	50,000
High Divide Sagebrush Habitat Improvement	ID	N/A	N/A	N/A	100,000
Idaho Conifer Treatments; Increasing the Pace and Scale of Regional Landscape Strategies	ID	144,000	96,000	75,000	80,000
Idaho Mesic Rangeland Resources Enhancement: A Statewide Strategy to Increase the Pace and Scale of Delivery	ID	120,000	80,000	202,122	N/A
Prioritizing Mesic Resource in High Value Watersheds in Idaho	ID	N/A	N/A	N/A	172,113
Southeast Idaho Sagebrush Steppe Enhancement	ID	52,131	N/A	N/A	N/A
Supporting Idaho's Proactive Invasive Annual Grass Strategy: Empowering Regional Core Area Partnerships	ID	N/A	N/A	N/A	80,000
Supporting Shoshone Paiute and Shoshone Bannock Tribal Partnerships in the Sagebrush Steppe	ID/NV	N/A	N/A	99,000	25,000 100,000
Supporting Sagebrush Core Area Recovery Through Disturbance Response	ID	N/A	N/A	45,000	N/A
Supporting the Candidate Conservation Agreement on Idaho National Laboratory Partnerships in the Sagebrush Steppe	ID	N/A	N/A	121,000	50,000
Upper Snake Sagebrush Steppe Enhancement	ID	183,148	156,852	N/A	N/A
Assessing Traditional and Emerging Grazing Strategies for Creating a Mosaic of Diverse Habitat Patches for Sagebrush Associated Birds	MT	119,682	100,318	N/A	N/A
Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances in Montana's Northern Great Plains and Musselshell Plains	MT	120,263	97,977	134,930	135,356
Charles M. Russell & UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge Invasive Annual Grass (IAG) Treatments	MT	N/A	N/A	N/A	439,735
Defending the Core of the Core in the High Divide	MT	N/A	N/A	N/A	41,213
Fort Belknap Indian Community Buffalo Program Restoration and Grazing System	MT	N/A	N/A	150,000	N/A
Livestock Water for Montana's Northern Sagebrush Stronghold	MT	N/A	N/A	N/A	162,000
Managing Sage-Steppe on Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge	MT	N/A	31,323	N/A	N/A
Pre- and Post- Treatment Impacts of Japanese Brome Treatment on Pollinators in Sagebrush Rangeland	MT	N/A	95,000	N/A	N/A
Ranch and Climate Resilience on the Northern Great Plains	MT	N/A	N/A	477,085	87,947
Sagebrush Conservation in Montana's Northern Great Plains and Musselshell Plain	MT	309,218	431,504	210,000	87,947
SW Montana Sage Steppe Resiliency Project	MT	437,185	468,508	348,857	351,710
Applegate Field Office Post-Fire Invasive Annual Grass Treatment	NV	N/A	N/A	N/A	239,762
Berry Brook Mesic Area and Connectivity Enhancement for Sagebrush Steppe Wildlife	NV	N/A	N/A	164,904	N/A
Cottonwood Ranch Meadow Enhancement Project	NV	25,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Effect of Conifer Treatments and Landscape Management on Sagebrush Obligate Songbirds and Pinyon Jays in the Great Basin	NV	100,000	252,500	N/A	N/A
Fourmile Creek Wet Meadow Enhancement Project	NV	38,050	N/A	N/A	N/A
Fourmile Creek Wet Meadow Enhancement Project Phase II	NV	N/A	N/A	37,326	N/A
Home Ranch Water Distribution - Phase II	NV	51,166	N/A	N/A	N/A
Humboldt Ranch Sagebrush and Riparian Enhancement Project	NV	91,162	N/A	N/A	N/A
Increasing the Availability of Dry Ecotype Native Seeds and Plant Materials for the Great Basin (Nevada Seed Strategy Actions)	NV	N/A	262,790	N/A	N/A
Impacts of Mining Exploration and Development on Sagebrush Ecosystems and Wildlife: A Pilot Study	NV	50,000	50,000	N/A	N/A
Implementing Low-tech Process-Based Restoration on Degraded Streams in Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge	NV	N/A	N/A	N/A	100,000
Kelly Creek Conifer Thinning - Phase I	NV	7,660	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mary’s River Subbasin Riparian and Migration Corridor Enhancement Project	NV	N/A	N/A	221,204	N/A
Mason Mountain Riparian/Wet Meadow Restoration and Infrastructure Removal	NV	N/A	N/A	24,000	N/A
Mosquito Valley Range Improvements	NV	N/A	N/A	67,659	N/A
Northeastern Nevada Sagebrush Ecosystem Enhancement Project	NV	N/A	220,000	N/A	N/A
Northwestern Nevada Large Scale Rangeland Restoration	NV	N/A	N/A	303,000	N/A
North Pequops Pinyon Juniper Tree Removal	NV	N/A	N/A	N/A	200,000
O'Neil Basin Meadow Enhancement Project	NV	N/A	175,000	N/A	N/A
Sage Hen Riparian Restoration Project	NV	N/A	N/A	N/A	140,000
Stream and Meadow Restoration and Sagebrush Habitat Enhancement Project	NV	N/A	N/A	71,913	196,454
Sweetwater Pinyon-Juniper Removal	NV	N/A	N/A	43.326	N/A
Summit Lake Sagebrush Protection Project	NV	N/A	N/A	N/A	73,190
Summit Lake Sagebrush Spring(s) into Action	NV	70,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Summit Lake Sagebrush Spring(s) into Action Phase II	NV	N/A	N/A	176,580	N/A
Virtual Fencing as a Tool to Support Flexible Livestock Grazing Management to Simultaneously Benefit Livestock Production and Wildlife Habitat	NV	N/A	N/A	150,500	N/A
Vya Conservation District Sagebrush and Wet Meadow Enhancements Phase I	NV	100,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Assessing, Protecting, and Restoring Mesic Habitats in the Pueblo and Trout Creek Mountains	OR	360,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Baker Sage-Grouse Landscape Implementation Team Initiative to Enhance Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat in Northeastern Oregon	OR	N/A	N/A	100,000	N/A
Barbwire Juniper Removal Project	OR	120,039	120,039	150,000	N/A
Burns-Paiute Tribe Jonsboro Upland Native Plant Restoration	OR	56,142	N/A	N/A	N/A
Completing Removal of Encroaching Juniper from the Lower Guano Creek Area on Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge	OR	114,000	143,858	N/A	N/A
County Line Juniper Project	OR	N/A	N/A	N/A	164,195
Defending and Growing the Core: Adaptive Management and Virtual Fence at Trout Creek Ranch	OR	N/A	N/A	N/A	46,624
Developing Stream Crossing Reclamation Plans for Degraded Crossings of Springbrooks through Wet Meadows in Completed Juniper Control Areas on Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge	OR	N/A	N/A	15,000	N/A
Improving Landscape Resiliency on Public and Private Lands for Sagebrush Obligate Species Through Invasive Weed Management	OR	N/A	N/A	N/A	105,447
Increasing Native Seed Collection and Storage Capacity for Restoration of Core Sagebrush Areas in Central Oregon	OR	N/A	N/A	140,303	N/A
Oregon Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances Initiative to Protect and Enhance Sagebrush Ecosystems on Private Lands	OR	250,000	250,000	125,000	N/A
Post-fire Restoration in Oregon Rangelands	OR	N/A	N/A	N/A	166,000
Southeastern Oregon Collaboration to Address Primary Threats to Sagebrush Landscapes	OR	119,200	119,200	171,190	197,424
Survey of Bombus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and DNA Barcoding of Sagebrush Biome Wild Bees in Southeast Oregon	OR	N/A	57,000	N/A	N/A
Utah: Climate Resilience Projects for Mesic Habitat Restoration and Enhancements	UT	475,453	232,398	75,000	365,710
Utah: Conifer Treatment Projects for Upland Habitat Restoration and Enhancements	UT	461,271	250,000	812,952	258,738
Beaver-Powered Restoration in Rock Island Creek Watershed	WA	N/A	N/A	51,874	N/A
Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit Recovery	WA	N/A	209,100	N/A	N/A
Easement Support for Sage Grouse Habitat Protection	WA	186,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Low-tech Process-Based Restoration in Streams and Meadows of Douglas County Wildlife Areas in Washington	WA	N/A	N/A	86,042	N/A
Moses Coulee Post-Fire Sage-Steppe Restoration: Phase II	WA	183,323	N/A	N/A	N/A
Post-Fire Restoration of Stream and Riparian Habitat Condition on East Foster Creek Douglas County, Washington	WA	N/A	100,000	N/A	N/A
Process-Based Stream Restoration in Smith Draw	WA	31,515	N/A	N/A	N/A
Restoration of Stream and Riparian Habitat Conditions in Douglas County, Washington	WA	N/A	N/A	76,093	76,093
Sagebrush Flat WLA Pygmy Rabbit Habitat Enhancement	WA	N/A	N/A	N/A	104,474
Sagebrush Upland Improvement and Riparian Restoration in Douglas County, Washington	WA	N/A	N/A	165,000	N/A
Sage-steppe Restoration at Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park	WA	N/A	N/A	N/A	106,466
Shrub-Steppe Restoration for Fire and Climate Resilience on Hanford Reach National Monument	WA	N/A	93,786	N/A	N/A
Shrub-Steppe Restoration and Monitoring on Hanford Reach National Monument	WA	N/A	N/A	185,000	N/A
Washington Shrub-steppe Restoration and Resiliency Initiative: Defining Shared Spatial Priorities	WA	175,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Wetland and Upland Restoration along Yakima Canyon, WA	WA	N/A	N/A	N/A	33,557
Whiskey Dick Shrub-Steppe Resiliency	WA	N/A	N/A	N/A	300,000
Green River Watershed Mesic Restoration Crew	WY	N/A	N/A	120,000	N/A
Huston to Sommers Green River Habitat Restoration	WY	N/A	N/A	50,000	N/A
Invasive Annual Grass Tech Transfer Partnership: Empowering Land Managers to Defend and Grow Sagebrush Cores	WY	200,000	100,000	N/A	N/A
Little Snake-Savery Creek Basin Mesic Forb Interseeding	WY	N/A	N/A	N/A	42,754
North La Barge Common Allotment Virtual Fence	WY	N/A	N/A	90,000	N/A
Seedskadee NWR Virtual Fence Rangeland Health	WY	N/A	52,000	50,000	N/A
Sublette County Common Allotment Virtual Fence	WY	N/A	N/A	90,000	105,000
Wind River Reservation Crow Creek Fence	WY	N/A	N/A	50,000	N/A
Wind River Reservation Riparian Fencing	WY	N/A	N/A	300,000	N/A
Wyoming Collaborative Sage-Steppe Mesic Habitat Restoration	WY	250,000	370,000	N/A	122,000
Wyoming Invasive Annual Grass Management Collaborative	WY	750,000	630,000	584,763	1,095,000
Wyoming Sage-steppe Mesic Habitat Restoration III	WY	N/A	N/A	355,000	N/A
A Dynamic Decision Support Tool for Mapping and Monitoring Wildlife Habitat and Connectivity Across the Sagebrush Biome	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	N/A	98,755
Applying Pollinator Conservation Insight from Local/Scale Vegetation Data alongside the SCD	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	N/A	50,000
Assessing the impact of invasive annual grasses and wildfire on native pollinators within the sagebrush-steppe biome	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	312,817	N/A
Assessing the Future Sagebrush Core Habitats: Impacts of Climate & Climate Uncertainty, Wildfire and Invasive Species	Rangewide	110,000	113,548	312,817	N/A
Assessing the Responses of Multiple Sagebrush Songbirds to Conifer Removal in the Bi-State Area of Nevada and California	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	24,186	N/A
Building and Testing a Multi-scale Adaptive Management Framework for Evaluating Restoration Effectiveness in the Sagebrush Biome	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	244,950	N/A
Continued Technical Assistance to the Sagebrush Conservation Design: Publishing the Scenarios Work and Expanding our Monitoring Tool to Include Key Ecological Indicators from Local Vegetation	Rangewide	N/A	99,995	119,944	50,000
Continued Technical Assistance to the Sagebrush Conservation Design and Incorporating Riparian Resources into the Sagebrush Conservation Design	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	50,000	N/A
Enabling Assessment of Invasive Annual Grass Management Across the Sagebrush Biome	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	N/A	305,000
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Conservation Actions for Greater Sage-Grouse using Hierarchical Models and the Conservation Efforts Database	Rangewide	150,000	150,000	95,000	N/A
Evaluating the Influence of Scale and Multiple Threats on Treatment Response Detection in Remotely-Sensed Data SCD Data	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	N/A	50,000
Forecasting Future Mesic Resource Vulnerability to Climate Change and Land Use Change in the Sagebrush Biome	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	N/A	50,000
Growing the Core: Restoring Sagebrush Steppe Habitats with Innovative Restoration Technologies	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	100,000	N/A
Incorporating Connectivity and Wildland Fire Risk into the WAFWA Sagebrush Conservation Design	Rangewide	150,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Incorporating Genetic Structure and Diversity Into Restoration Guidelines for Sagebrush Ecosystems to Improve Resiliency and Restoration Success	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	80,000	N/A
Integrating Habitat Quality and Resistance and Resilience to Inform Long-term Sagebrush Conservation and Restoration Investments	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	244,418	N/A
Keeping the High Desert Green: Evaluation Outcomes of Mesic Restoration of Greater Sage-Grouse	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	N/A	295,168
Mapping Renewable Energy and Transmission Infrastructures Across Sagebrush Biome and Estimating Effects on Sage-Grouse Populations for a Management Decision Support Tool	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	144,277	145,723
Planning for Conservation Delivery Success: Linking Biome-wide Sagebrush Conservation Design to Local Treatment Planning by Leveraging Landscape Restoration Outcomes	Rangewide	115,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Prioritizing Conifer Management to Maintain Sagebrush-Obligate Species' Connectivity	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	N/A	90,000
Quantifying Carbon Storage and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Sagebrush Rangelands to Inform Management for Carbon Resilience	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	134,408	N/A
Sample: A New Toolbox to Improve Monitoring Plot Selection and Placement Efficiency and Effectiveness	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	N/A	133,707
Sagebrush Biome Invasive Annual Grass Economic Assessment	Rangewide	N/A	100,000	N/A	N/A
Sagebrush Technical Transfer Network-Training and Resources	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	N/A	55,574
Status Trends of Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands - Toward a Conservation Strategy for the Biome	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	N/A	74,407
Time-series Mapping of Greater Sage-Grouse Distributional Range: New Fine-scale Spatial Data Products to Evaluate Range Contraction or Expansion in Relation to Core Sagebrush Areas	Rangewide	N/A	N/A	N/A	150,000
Understanding Greater Sage-Grouse Population Trends from the Lens of the WAFWA Conservation Design Strategy: Implications for Management of Impacted, Core, and Growth Opportunity Areas within the Sagebrush Biome	Rangewide	75,000	75,000	N/A	N/A

Remaining funding is allocated for capacity building efforts across sagebrush sagebrush
The western United States’ sagebrush country encompasses over 175 million acres of public and private lands. The sagebrush landscape provides many benefits to our rural economies and communities, and it serves as crucial habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including the iconic greater sage-grouse and over 350 other species.

Learn more about sagebrush country for new or existing staff positions to bolster partnerships and aid the delivery of on-the-ground conservation projects. FY25 has 1.3 million allocated for capacity building.

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