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USGS2016

Efficacy of landscape scale woodland and savanna restoration at multiple spatial and temporal scales

The loss of historic ecosystem conditions has led forest managers to implement woodland and savanna ecosystem restoration on a landscape scale (≥10,000 ha) in the Ozark Plateau of Arkansas. Managers are attempting to restore and conserve these ecosystems through the reintroduction of disturbance, mainly short-rotation early-growing-season prescribed fire. Short-rotation early-growing season prescribed fire in the Ozarks typically occurs immediately before bud-break, through bud-break, and before leaf-out, and fire events occur on a three-to five-year interval. We examined short-rotation early-growing season prescribed fire as a restoration tool on vegetation characteristics. We collected vegetation measurements at 70 locations annually from 2011 to 2012 in and around the White Rock Ecosystem Restoration Area (WRERA), Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, Arkansas, and used generalized linear models to investigate the impact and efficacy of prescribed fire on vegetation structure. We found the number of large shrubs (>5 cm base diameter) decreased and small shrubs (<5 cm ground diameter) increased with prescribed fire severity. We found that horizontal understory cover from ground level to 1 m in height increased with time-since-prescribed-fire and woody ground cover decreased with the number of prescribed fire treatments. Using LANDFIRE datasets at the landscape scale, we found that since the initiation of a short-rotation early-growing season prescribed fire management regime, forest canopy cover has not reverted to levels characteristic of woodlands and savannas or reached restoration objectives over large areas. Without greater reductions in forest canopy cover and increases in forest-canopy cover heterogeneity, advanced regeneration will be limited in success, and woodland and savanna conditions will not return soon or to the extent desired.

Arkansas↗

USGS1983

Response of American black ducks to dietary uranium: A proposed substitute for lead shot

Lead (Pb) shot has been associated with mortality in waterfowl (Trainer and Hunt 1965, Anderson 1975, Stout and Cornwell 1976) and other avian species (Benson et al. 1974, Kaiser et al. 1980, Pattee et al. 1981). Bellrose (1959) indicated that between 2 and 3% of waterfowl populations may be lost yearly to lead poisoning. Incidence of lead shot in waterfowl and estimates of mortality from lead poisoning have decreased slightly (Trost 1980) or not at all (Longcore et al 1982) in local areas since 1976, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated certain wetland areas in 32 states as steel shot zones. Studies in specific areas do not give a complete national picture, but do point to remaining problems. Steel shotshells are more expensive than Pb shotshells when purchased in a retail outlet; they cannot be used in all guns and have not been well received by some hunters who question their performance on ducks and geese (Humburg et al 1982).

Journal of Wildlife Management↗

USGS2017

Distribution and migration chronology of Eastern population sandhill cranes

The Eastern Population (EP) of greater sandhill cranes ( Antigone canadensis tabida ; cranes) is expanding in size and geographic range. Little information exists regarding the geographic extent of breeding, migration, and wintering ranges, migration chronology, or use of staging areas for cranes in the EP. To obtain these data, we attached solar global positioning system (GPS) platform transmitting terminals (PTTs) to 42 sandhill cranes and monitored daily locations from December 2009 through August 2014. On average, tagged cranes settled in summer areas during late‐March in Minnesota (7%), Wisconsin (29%), Michigan, USA (21%), and Ontario, Canada (38%) and arrived at their winter terminus beginning mid‐December in Indiana (15%), Kentucky (3%), Tennessee (45%), Georgia (5%), and Florida (32%). Cranes initiated spring migration beginning mid‐February to their respective summer areas on routes similar to those used during fall migration. Twenty‐five marked cranes returned to the same summer area after a second spring migration, of which 19 (76%) settled <3 km from the estimated mean center of the summer area of the previous year. During the 2010–2012 United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Cooperative Fall Abundance Survey for cranes in the EP, we estimated that approximately 29–31% of cranes that summered in both Wisconsin and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan were not in areas included in the survey. The information we collected on crane movements provides insight into distribution and migration chronology that will aid in assessment of the current USFWS fall survey. In addition, information on specific use sites can assist state and federal managers to identify and protect key staging and winter areas particularly during current and future recreational harvest seasons.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗

USGS2022

The gap between experts, farmers and non-farmers on perceived environmental vulnerability and the influence of values and beliefs

Science has played a mixed role in guiding conservation and sustainability-oriented decision-making by individuals, policymakers, institutions, and governments. Not all science-based conservation and sustainability initiatives that address issues facing humanity and ecosystems and global problems have gained public support. Conservation decisions and policy prescriptions are and may be based on perceptions about and experiences with the environment, local land use, and ecosystems that may not align with or be grounded in science or evidence from experts in the field. Values, beliefs, and perceptions associated with nature play a critical role in how individuals view biodiversity conservation, sustainability, and natural resource management . This study first examines the gap between experts (scientists and other field experts) and the public (farmers and non-farmers) about the state of water and land resources, wildlife and associated habitats, and aquatic biodiversity in the Smoky Hill River Watershed in western Kansas. Second, the study examines the role that values and beliefs play in shaping environmental perceptions for farmers and non-farmers. Analysis confirms that a gap between experts and farmers/non-farmers does exist, especially with respect to the state of the Ogallala Aquifer, playas, rivers and streams, lakes and reservoirs, native grasslands, wildlife habitats, farmland, native fish populations, and wildlife species. Ordered-logistic regression analyses, meanwhile, indicate that farmer and non-farmer perceptions about the state of the local environment are influenced by traditional and self-interested values, as well as environmental values and beliefs, but less so by religiosity and political ideology. Despite broad takeaways, results exhibited heterogeneity across the farmer and non-farmer subpopulations. If environmental professionals cannot align ecological data, stakeholders’ values/perceptions, and policies, then the existing body of technical research and management on sustainability in natural and social sciences may be of little value.

Journal of Environmental Management↗

USGS2016

Book review: Inside the Equal Access to Justice Act: Environmental litigation and the crippling battle over America's lands, endangered species, and critical habitats

Inside the Equal Access to Justice Act is authored by Lowell E. Baier, an attorney, political scientist, and historian whose conservation portfolio includes the J. N. “Ding” Darling Conservation Award from the National Wildlife Federation (2016), Citizen Conservationist Award from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (2013), Conservationist of the Year Award from Outdoor Life magazine (2010), and Conservationist of the Year Award from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (2008). In the book, Baier stresses the need to reform the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) because of unintended provisions that incentivize and reward environmental litigants for filing suit against federal regulatory and land management agencies, consequentially hindering pro-active, cooperative, conservation efforts. The book is the culmination of several years of legal research, case history analyses, and personal interviews with several key individuals from congress, conservation management agencies, and non-government organizations. Review info: Inside the equal access to justice act: Environmental litigation and the crippling battle over America's lands, endangered species, and critical habitats. By Lowell E. Baier, 2016. ISBN: 978-1442257443, 678 pp.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗

USGS1990

Estimation of confidence intervals for federal waterfowl harvest surveys

I developed methods of estimating confidence intervals for the federal waterfowl harvest surveys conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). I estimated flyway harvest confidence intervals for mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ) (95% CI are ± 8% of the estimate). Canada geese ( Branta canadensis ) ( ± 11%), black ducks ( Anas rubripes ) ( ± 16%), canvasbacks ( Aythya valisineria ) ( ± 32%), snow geese ( Chen caerulescens ) ( ± 43%), and brant ( Branta bernicla ) ( ± 46%). Differences between annual estimate of 10, 13, 22, 42, 43, and 58% could be detected with mallards, Canada geese, black ducks, canvasbacks, snow geese, and brant, respectively. Estimated confidence intervals for state harvests tended to be much larger than those for the flyway estimates.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗

USGS2023

Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published from October 2019 to July 2022

Integrating recent scientific knowledge into management decisions supports effective natural resource management and can lead to better resource outcomes. However, finding and accessing scientific knowledge can be time consuming and costly. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) created a series of annotated bibliographies on topics of management concern for western lands. Previously published reports introduced a methodology for preparing annotated bibliographies to facilitate integration of recent, peer-reviewed science into resource management decisions. Therefore, relevant text from those efforts is reproduced here and built on to incorporate new information. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter “GRSG”) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” under the Endangered Species Act was in part a result of a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New scientific information augments existing knowledge and can help inform updates or modifications to existing plans for managing GRSG and sagebrush ecosystems. However, the sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents. To assist in this process, the USGS has reviewed and summarized the scientific literature published since January 1, 2015. Our most recent GRSG literature summary was published in 2020 (Carter and others, 2020) and included products published through October 2, 2019. Here, we consider products published between October 2, 2019, and July 21, 2022. We compiled and summarized peer-reviewed journal articles, data products, and formal technical reports (such as U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service General Technical Reports and USGS Open-File Reports) on greater sage-grouse. We first systematically searched three reference databases and three government databases using the search phrase “greater sage-grouse.” We refined the initial list of products by removing (1) duplicates, (2) publications not published as research, data products, or scientific review articles in peer-reviewed journals or as formal technical reports, and (3) products for which greater sage-grouse was not a research focus or the study did not present new data or findings about greater sage-grouse. We summarized each product using a consistent structure (background, objectives, methods, location, findings, and implications) and identified management topics addressed by each product; for example, species and population characteristics. We also identified projects that provided new geospatial data. The review process for this annotated bibliography included two initial internal colleague reviews of each summary, requesting input on each summary from an author of the original publication, and formal peer review. Our initial searches resulted in 221 total products, of which 147 met our criteria for inclusion. Across products summarized in the annotated bibliography, broad-scale habitat characteristics, behavior or demographics, site-scale habitat characteristics, habitat selection, and population estimates or targets were the most commonly addressed management topics. The online version of this bibliography, which will be available on the Science for Resource Managers tool ( https://apps.usgs.gov/science-for-resource-managers ), will be searchable by topic, location, and year, and will include links to each original publication. The studies compiled and summarized here may inform planning and management actions that seek to maintain and restore sagebrush landscapes and GRSG populations across the GRSG range.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2013

Estimating occupancy and predicting numbers of gray wolf packs in Montana using hunter surveys

Reliable knowledge of the status and trend of carnivore populations is critical to their conservation and management. Methods for monitoring carnivores, however, are challenging to conduct across large spatial scales. In the Northern Rocky Mountains, wildlife managers need a time- and cost-efficient method for monitoring gray wolf (Canis lupus) populations. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) conducts annual telephone surveys of >50,000 deer and elk hunters. We explored how survey data on hunters' sightings of wolves could be used to estimate the occupancy and distribution of wolf packs and predict their abundance in Montana for 2007–2009. We assessed model utility by comparing our predictions to MFWP minimum known number of wolf packs. We minimized false positive detections by identifying a patch as occupied if 2–25 wolves were detected by ≥3 hunters. Overall, estimates of the occupancy and distribution of wolf packs were generally consistent with known distributions. Our predictions of the total area occupied increased from 2007 to 2009 and predicted numbers of wolf packs were approximately 1.34–1.46 times the MFWP minimum counts for each year of the survey. Our results indicate that multi-season occupancy models based on public sightings can be used to monitor populations and changes in the spatial distribution of territorial carnivores across large areas where alternative methods may be limited by personnel, time, accessibility, and budget constraints.

Montana↗

USGS1995

History and use of remote sensing for conservation and management of federal lands in Alaska, USA

Remote sensing has been used to aid land use planning efforts for federal public lands in Alaska since the 1940s. Four federal land management agencies-the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, US. Bureau of Land Management, US. National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service-have used aerial photography and satellite imagery to document the extent, type, and condition of Alaska's natural resources. Aerial photographs have been used to collect detailed information over small to medium-sized areas. This standard management tool is obtainable using equipment ranging from hand-held 35-mm cameras to precision metric mapping cameras. Satellite data, equally important, provide synoptic views of landscapes, are digitally manipulatable, and are easily merged with other digital databases. To date, over 109.2 million ha (72%) of Alaska's land cover have been mapped via remote sensing. This information has provided a base for conservation, management, and planning on federal public lands in Alaska.

Alaska↗

USGS2013

Influences of riparian vegetation on trout stream temperatures in central Wisconsin

Summer stream temperatures limit the distribution of Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis and are affected by riparian vegetation. We used riparian and instream habitat surveys along with stream temperature loggers placed throughout streams to determine the potential for riparian vegetation shading to increase the length of stream that is thermally suitable for Brook Trout. Twelve streams located throughout central Wisconsin were evaluated in the summers of 2007 and 2008. Across all streams, nonparametric ANCOVA modeling was used to identify spatial temperature patterns within a year for individual stream segments. Riparian tree-vegetated segments had a significantly lower mean change in stream temperature per kilometer of stream compared with grass-vegetated segments during the periods of maximum daily and weekly average temperatures, when we accounted for upstream temperature. Riparian grass-vegetated segments increased on average 1.19°C/km (SE, 0.44) during the maximum daily average temperature period and 0.93°C/km (SE, 0.39) during the maximum weekly average temperature period, whereas tree-vegetated segments decreased 0.48°C/km (SE, 0.39) and 0.30°C/km (SE, 0.25) during those respective time periods. Maximum weekly average temperatures were also modeled with different shading levels using a heat budget temperature model, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Stream Segment Temperature Model. Across 11 study streams (one stream model could not be calibrated), modeled stream temperatures in equilibrium with their environmental conditions ranging from 23.2°C to 28.3°C at 0% shading could be reduced to 18.8–23.5°C with 75% shading. Modeled increases in shade up to 75% from the current average of 34% increased the length of surveyed stream thermally suitable to Brook Trout by 4.9 km on Sucker Creek. We conclude that riparian forests are important for maintaining thermal conditions suitable for Brook Trout in central Wisconsin streams and can be managed to increase the amount of stream habitat thermally suitable for Brook Trout.

Wisconsin↗

USGS2012

Will hunters steward wolves? A comment on Treves and Martin

As wolf conservation transitions away from federally sponsored protection and recovery toward sustainable management under state fish and game agencies, researchers and policymakers are interested to know what role hunters will play. Based upon hunters' responses to three recent surveys in Wisconsin and the northern Rockies, Treves and Martin question the assumption that hunters will steward wolves, noting that the majority of hunters that responded were unsupportive of wolf conservation. However, this conclusion largely depends upon what is meant by stewardship and what actions are required for wolves to be conserved. This article discusses the meaning of three concepts either explicitly or implicitly discussed by Treves and Martin—tolerance, acceptance, and stewardship—and offers a conceptual model of wildlife conservation behavior that clarifies the relationship among these concepts.

Society & Natural Resources: An International Jour↗

USGS2025

The Grouse & Grazing Project: Effects of cattle grazing on demographic traits of greater sage-grouse

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) were once widespread within sagebrush -grassland ecosystems of western North America, but populations have declined since the mid-1960s. Though sage-grouse were not listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), when examined in 2015, they remain a species of interest and concern. Roughly half of the sage-grouse’s remaining habitat is on federal land, most of it managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Livestock grazing is the most extensive land use within sage-grouse habitat and the effects of livestock grazing on sage-grouse are often debated. The extensive decade-long research project summarized in this report was initiated to provide rigorous experimental research to inform the debate regarding the relationship between livestock grazing and sage-grouse. In 2012, the Idaho Grouse & Grazing Project was started with several partners including the University of Idaho, BLM, Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), and other partners to evaluate the effects of cattle grazing on sage-grouse vital rates. Many additional supporters have provided resources to this research effort including the Public Lands Council, Idaho Cattle Association, Idaho Governor’s Office of Species Conservation, Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USFS, and numerous grazing associations and ranchers in Idaho. This 10-year research project was a scientifically rigorous and replicated experiment, occurring across five study sites in Idaho. This document is intended to provide a summary of the findings of this unprecedented study. Annual reports are available on the project’s website: https://idahogrousegrazing.org and scientific papers are being prepared and submitted to journals. The project focused on the influence of spring cattle grazing on sage-grouse vital rates across five study sites in Idaho including 21 BLM grazing pastures. From 2014-2023, we captured 1,343 grouse, documented the fate of 1,285 nests, and tracked 399 broods. Vegetation was characterized at 4,777 plots and grazing utilization levels were recorded at >30,000 locations. Because insects are an important food source for sage-grouse hens and their chicks, insect biomass and diversity were also examined in this study. We collected arthropods in 12,151 pitfall samples and 6,217 sweep-net samples across 786 plots within our five study sites. At each study site, three or four grazing treatments were implemented after two years of pre-treatment field investigations. These controlled cattle grazing treatments included spring-grazing in even years, spring-grazing in odd years, spring-and-fall grazing in alternating years, and a no grazing (or rested) control. Once grazing treatments were implemented at a study site, we measured sage-grouse demographic traits for 4-8 years post-treatment. Stocking rate (grazing intensity) was assessed across pastures each year and was influenced by vegetation communities, topography, and water sources. Grazed pastures exhibited lower grass cover and height compared to the no grazing pastures, and the extent of this difference varied based on annual precipitation levels. Rested pastures maintained higher grass cover and grass height, but the differences in habitat structure did not consistently translate to differences in sage-grouse demographic traits. Apparent nesting success varied annually and by site, ranging from 24% to 44% over the study period. Like some other studies, results from this research show that successful (i.e., hatched) sage-grouse nests have taller grass heights than failed nests. The average grass height surrounding successful nests in grazed pastures was shorter than that surrounding successful nests in non-grazed (i.e., rested) pastures. It is well documented that grazing reduces grass height, and these observations have led to widely held assumptions that livestock grazing reduces grass height which negatively affects sage-grouse nesting habitat. At the pasture scale, this study has found that sage-grouse nesting success is no greater in pastures that were rested for 4-8 years than those currently or recently grazed. This study gives no indication that removing cattle from pastures affected nesting success. We found some evidence that nest density varied among the grazing treatments, but we did not see compelling evidence of increases in density of nesting hens following cessation of grazing in the no grazing treatments. Brood survival varied by site and year but showed no strong effect of grazing treatment. Climatic conditions, particularly drought in 2021, had a greater effect on brood survival than grazing metrics. We also found no differences in hen survival among the grazing treatments. Results of this study suggest that hens nesting in spring and fall grazed pastures had similar or even slightly higher brood survival than hens in the rested pastures or the spring grazed pastures. Arthropod biomass and species diversity varied among our study sites and the differences between grazed and rested pastures also varied among study sites. Average biomass and diversity of arthropods was higher in the spring grazed pastures on two of three sites examined but higher in the rested pastures on the other site examined. Some taxa of arthropods were more abundant in grazed pastures while other taxa were more abundant in rested pastures. For example, Carabidae (Ground Beetles) and Formicidae (Ants) had higher biomass in grazed pastures, while Tenebrionidae (Darkling Beetles) and Acrididae (Grasshoppers) had higher biomass in non-grazed pastures. Results indicate that grazing effects on arthropod biomass and arthropod diversity are study site-dependent, suggesting a need to better quantify the most important prey taxa for sage-grouse chicks and to better control for other factors that influence arthropod abundance. Based on results of this research, livestock grazing, when properly managed, does not appear to negatively impact sage-grouse nest survival or brood success. This study provides critical insights for land managers balancing livestock production with sage-grouse conservation, supporting adaptive grazing strategies that maintain both economic and ecological objectives.

Idaho↗

USGS2003

Relative contribution of stocked walleyes in Tennessee reservoirs

Since the mid-1950s, fisheries biologists with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency have stocked walleyes Stizostedion vitreum in several tributary reservoirs of the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers to augment declining native stocks; however, the efficacy of these management actions has never been formally evaluated. The contribution of stocked walleyes in four Tennessee reservoirs was evaluated during 1999 and 2000 by marking fry and fingerlings through oxytetracycline (OTC) immersion. Stocking densities were 13-48 fingerlings/ha, and marking efficacy was high for fish marked as fry (mean = 98%; SE = 1.7%) and fingerlings (mean = 99%; SE = 0.6%). Nearly all (94-100%; N = 509) of the age-1 and age-2 walleyes collected in the four reservoirs were OTC-marked. Based on these findings, fingerling walleyes must be stocked annually to sustain the walleye populations in these tributary impoundments.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗

USGS2025

Placing environmental DNA monitoring for new detections into perspective: Fishes in the Milwaukee River, Wisconsin

Invasive species management frameworks, such as the early detection of and rapid response to invasive species, use monitoring programs to detect new species occurrences. Resource managers use environmental DNA (eDNA) as one tool for these monitoring programs. An eDNA detection in a new location may lack perspective for resource managers and researchers because of the rarity of potential invaders and the randomness in their dispersal and detection. An example monitoring program is the eDNA-based sampling approach used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for bigheaded carps Hypophthalmichthys spp. in the upper Mississippi River and Great Lakes Basins that collects hundreds of water samples per event. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service detected a single positive sample for Bighead Carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis during the spring 2021 sampling event in the Kinnickinnic River within the Milwaukee River Basin, and detected a second single positive sample for bigheaded carps during the fall 2021 sampling event in the Milwaukee River. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not detect any bigheaded carps in previous years (2015 to 2020) or in either the spring or fall 2022 sampling events. These detections lacked perspective, such as detection numbers for other species. We reanalyzed the 2021 and 2022 samples for four existing species of fish: two fairly common species (Common Carp Cyprinus carpio and Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum ) and two fairly rare species (Burbot Lota lota and Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella ). We detected Common Carp during all four sampling events, Gizzard Shad during three of four sampling events, and Burbot and Grass Carp during two of four sampling events. These results demonstrated that current sampling efforts could detect other species, and bigheaded carp eDNA was not common in the Milwaukee River compared to these species. More specifically, this finding indicates bigheaded carp eDNA detections are as rare as, or rarer than, Grass Carp eDNA detections, a recent invader to the basin. Our findings also demonstrated how reanalyzing eDNA samples after positive detections for targeted species can help managers understand the context of the detections and provide perspective for the relative abundance of the targeted species. Additionally, our results highlight the importance of completing long-term eDNA-based monitoring rather than a single sampling or inventory event. These detections may have been missed in a single year or sampling event, whereas a multiyear monitoring program provides an opportunity to observe trends through time.

Wisconsin↗

USGS2015

Achieving high survival of tournament-caught black bass: past efforts and future needs and opportunities

Rapid growth of black bass (Micropterus spp.) tournaments in the 1960s and 1970s caused concern among fisheries managers and anglers about the impacts of tournament-caused mortality on bass populations. Tournament organizers voluntarily implemented live-release events in the early 1980s. As catch-and-release practices became more common, procedures to improve the survival of tournament-caught fish were developed and have evolved. The objectives of this paper are to review education and outreach efforts to improve survival of tournament-caught black bass, suggest research needs and opportunities to achieve greater survival, and show the relevance of high survival to contemporary black bass management. Since 1985, a succession of informational products describing those techniques have been developed and distributed to anglers. Although research has confirmed the effectiveness of the recommended procedures and documented that angler and tournament organizer behavior has changed and the survival of tournament-caught black bass has increased, the impacts of the outreach efforts on tournament practices have not been quantified. Continued efforts towards increasing angler awareness of proper handling techniques may benefit from better communication, endorsement by professional anglers, and the use of incentives by state agencies to encourage better fish care.

Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish an↗

USGS2018

Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published since January 2015

The greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ; hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New scientific information augments existing knowledge and can help inform updates or modifications to existing plans for managing GRSG and sagebrush ecosystems. However, the sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has reviewed and summarized the scientific literature published since January 1, 2015. To identify articles and reports published about GRSG, we first conducted a structured search of three reference databases (Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar) using the search term “greater sage-grouse.” We refined the initial list of products by (1) removing duplicates, (2) excluding products that were not published as research or scientific review articles in peer-reviewed journals or as formal government technical reports, and (3) retaining only those products for which GRSG or their habitat was a research focus. We summarized the contents of each product by using a consistent structure (background, objectives, methods, location, findings, and implications) and assessed the content of each product relevant to a list of 31 management topics. These topics include GRSG biology and habitat characteristics along with potential management actions, land uses, and environmental factors related to GRSG management and conservation. We also noted which articles/reports created new geospatial data. The final search was conducted on January 6, 2018, and application of our criteria resulted in the inclusion of 169 published products (2 of these products were published corrections to journal articles). The management topics most commonly addressed were GRSG behavior or demographics and GRSG habitat selection or habitat characteristics at broad or site scales. Few products addressed captive breeding, recreation, wild horses and burros, and range management structures (including fences). We include in this annotated bibliography the full citation, product summary, and management topics addressed by each product. The online version of this bibliography ( https://apps.usgs.gov/gsgbib/index.php ) is searchable by topic and location and includes links to the original publications. A substantial body of literature has been compiled based on research explicitly related to the conservation, management, monitoring, and assessment of GRSG. These studies may inform planning and management actions that seek to balance conservation, economic, and social objectives and manage diverse resource uses and values across the western United States. The review process for this product included requesting input on each summary from one or more authors of the original peer-reviewed article or report and a formal review of the entire document by three independent reviewers and, subsequently, the USGS Bureau Approving Official. This process is consistent with USGS Fundamental Science Practices.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2012

Identifying the decision to be supported: a review of papers from environmental modelling and software

Two of the basic tenets of decision support system efforts are to help identify and structure the decisions to be supported, and to then provide analysis in how those decisions might be best made. One example from wetland management would be that wildlife biologists must decide when to draw down water levels to optimise aquatic invertebrates as food for breeding ducks. Once such a decision is identified, a system or tool to help them make that decision in the face of current and projected climate conditions could be developed. We examined a random sample of 100 papers published from 2001-2011 in Environmental Modelling and Software that used the phrase “decision support system” or “decision support tool”, and which are characteristic of different sectors. In our review, 41% of the systems and tools related to the water resources sector, 34% were related to agriculture, and 22% to the conservation of fish, wildlife, and protected area management. Only 60% of the papers were deemed to be reporting on DSS. This was based on the papers reviewed not having directly identified a specific decision to be supported. We also report on the techniques that were used to identify the decisions, such as formal survey, focus group, expert opinion, or sole judgment of the author(s). The primary underlying modelling system, e.g., expert system, agent based model, Bayesian belief network, geographical information system (GIS), and the like was categorised next. Finally, since decision support typically should target some aspect of unstructured decisions, we subjectively determined to what degree this was the case. In only 23% of the papers reviewed, did the system appear to tackle unstructured decisions. This knowledge should be useful in helping workers in the field develop more effective systems and tools, especially by being exposed to the approaches in different, but related, disciplines. We propose that a standard blueprint for reporting on DSS be developed for consideration by journal editors to aid them in filtering papers that use the term, “decision support”.

Leipzig↗

USGS2013

Conservation and Ecology of Marine Forage Fishes--Proceedings of a Research Symposium, September 2012

Locally and globally, there is growing recognition of the critical roles that herring, smelt, sand lance, eulachon, and other forage fishes play in marine ecosystems. Scientific and resource management entities throughout the Salish Sea, agree that extensive information gaps exist, both in basic biological knowledge and parameters critical to fishery management. Communication and collaboration among researchers also is inadequate. Building on the interest and enthusiasm generated by recent forage fish workshops and symposia around the region, the 2012 Research Symposium on the Conservation and Ecology of Marine Forage Fishes was designed to elucidate practical recommendations for science and policy needs and actions, and spur further collaboration in support for the precautionary management of forage fish. This dynamic and productive event was a joint venture of the Northwest Straits Commission Forage Fish Program, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and The Puget Sound Partnership. The symposium was held on September 12–14, 2012, at the University of Washington, Friday Harbor Laboratories campus. Sixty scientists, graduate students, and fisheries policy experts convened; showcasing ongoing research, conservation, and management efforts targeting forage fish from regional and national perspectives. The primary objectives of this event were to: (1) review current research and management related to marine forage fish species; and (2) identify priority science and policy needs and actions for Washington, British Columbia, and the entire West Coast. Given the diversity of knowledge, interests, and disciplines surrounding forage fish on both sides of the international border, the organizing committee made a concerted effort to contact many additional experts who, although unable to attend, provided valuable insights and ideas to the symposium structure and discussions. The value of the symposium format was highlighted in the closing remarks delivered by Joseph Gaydos, SeaDoc Society and Chair of the Puget Sound Science Panel. Dr. Gaydos’ presentation referenced the 2011 paper by Murray Rudd in the journal Conservation Biology , “How research-prioritization exercises affect conservation policy.” The paper points out that policy makers and funding agencies are more likely to gain a full understanding of issues when they are presented with research findings from an aligned research program. That is, compared to unaligned research strategies, where work is not based on identified research priorities.

Open-File Report↗