What We Do

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. 

Management and Conservation

Threats to Sagebrush 

Habitat loss and fragmentation is the leading threat to 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 and its wildlife. In particular, the invasion of exotic annual grasses and the destructive, large-scale wildfires fueled by these grasses is one of the most pressing issues we face.  

Goals of the Service’s Sagebrush Ecosystem Conservation Approach 

  • Defend and grow high quality sagebrush habitat “cores” to strengthen climate resilience and promote land health  
  • Reduce the likelihood of future federal regulatory intervention for declining sagebrush-obligate wildlife species  
  • Sustain the region’s rural, natural resources-based economies and communities, including tribes  
  • Build on the current collaborative process with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and other federal, state, and nongovernmental partners   

Our Projects and Research

An aerial view of a landscape where trees have been removed through a big strip in the center of the frame. Trees can be seen on the left and right sides.
Prioritizing Mesic Resources in High Value Watersheds in Idaho Funding Year Amount Location FY22 $ 120,000 All counties where core and growth opportunities occur, Idaho FY23 $ 80,000 All counties where core and growth...
Sagebrush Ecosystem, FY22 BIL-funded project
Upper Snake Sagebrush Steppe Enhancement Funding Year Amount Location FY22 $183,148 Clark, Butte, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison, Teton, Bonneville, Bingham Counties, Idaho FY23 $156,852 Clark, Butte, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison,...
Mountains in the background and a dead sagebrush plant in the foreground
Southeast Idaho Sagebrush Steppe Enhancement Funding Year Amount Location FY22 $52,131 Bear Lake, Caribou, Frankin, Bannock, Oneida, Power, Bingham, Bonneville, Cassia Counties, Idaho Project Description

This project is also a multi...

Sagebrush Ecosystem, FY22 BIL-funded project

Barbwire Juniper Removal Project

Funding Year

Amount

Location

FY22

$120,039

...

Small gray rabbit in a pillowcase held by a person's hands

The population of pygmy rabbits in the Columbia Basin of Washington State is endangered, first listed in 2003. The smallest species of rabbit in North America, this tiny creature has been brought to the brink of extinction by compounding factors that threaten to push it over the edge.  The...

Sagebrush Ecosystem, FY22 BIL-funded project

O'Neil Basin Meadow Enhancement Project

Funding Year

Amount

Location

FY23

$175,000

...