Why Sagebrush Matters,
by Debra K. Ellers, Executive Director
Pronghorn Antelope enjoying their sagebrush home. © Dale
Grooms
An expanse of grey green sagebrush may
seem boring when zooming across interstates in the West. Yet, the quiet yet alive high desert contains
many delights when you take time to explore it.
You may see a sage hen sitting purposefully on her nest, a band of
pronghorn gracefully galloping in the distance, a western bluebird perched on
top of a bitterbrush shrub, or pink phlox blooming amidst green
bunchgrasses.
Before modern settlement, sagebrush
covered about 270 million acres across the West, resembling a vast, unbroken
ocean of grey-green shrubs. Now sagebrush
acreage is about half that size, and what remains is significantly fragmented
and degraded through development, agriculture and other land disturbances.
Many wildlife species rely on
sagebrush habitat--over 100 bird, 70 mammal and 23 reptile and amphibian
species (called “sagebrush obligates” because they depend on sagebrush and
can’t exist without it). (Borland, J. 1998.
True Grit: Cold-hardy
Sagebrush. Hortus West 9(2) 1-5).
We are working on the ground to
save this unique native plant and animal community, so these gifts from Mother
Nature will continue for future generations to enjoy. Sagebrush is now one of the most threatened
landscapes, and needs our care and attention.
Quick Facts about
Sagebrush and its Threats
·
- About 120 million acres across 14 western states and 3 Canadian provinces.
- Largest semi-arid ecosystem in the West.
- Mostly situated between Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountain ranges and the Rocky Mountains.
- Typically cold, wet winters and hot, dry summers.
- In native condition, botanically characterized by shrubs interspersed with grasses and forbs [wildflowers].
- Sagebrush often dominates where snow and rainfall exceed 7 in. per year, but less than 12-14” annually.
- More than 70 percent public ownership; public land primarily managed by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management.
- Major land uses include agriculture, mining, energy development, livestock grazing, and urbanization.
- Primary stressors include the land uses listed above plus invasion of exotic plants, competition for water, soil erosion, altered fire cycles, and wildlife diseases.
(Source: USGS publication “Providing Scientific
Understanding of the Sagebrush Biome,” at
http://fresc.usgs.gov/products/fs/fs2005-3091.pdf).
