SAGE GROUSE INITIATIVE OREGON IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY USDA – NRCS – Oregon

Oregon SGI Overview Launched in 2010, the NRCS-led Sage Grouse Initiative is a partnership of ranchers, agencies, universities and non-profit groups working together with a shared vision of achieving wildlife conservation goals through sustainable ranching. Focus on habitat restoration to benefit bird populations in core habitat areas

Oregon SGI Accomplishments  200,000 acres of key sage grouse habitat restored since 2010  Habitat work addressed two-thirds of the conifer threat on priority private lands  $18.4 million total NRCS investment since 2010  NRCS contracts with 117 ranchers  Restoration efforts targeted sagebrush strongholds, which support 90% of birds in the state.

Making History  Sept. 22, 2015 – USFWS announced the greater sage grouse does not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act, thanks to years of successful conservation work.  This collaborative, science-based strategy is being called the largest land conservation effort in U.S. history.

What’s next? SGI 2.0  Nationally, SGI 2.0 is a $211 million commitment across USDA through  SGI 2.0 offers more conservation options for ranchers, utilizing NRCS’ full suite of Farm Bill programs including easements.  SGI 2.0 continues to address conifer encroachment, but it also targets other threats to rangeland health.

Oregon’s SGI 2.0 Strategy – 4 Focus Areas  Conifer Encroachment: Continue scaling-up juniper removal and support partnerships to treat adjacent public lands  Annual Grasses: Leverage NRCS programs to address treatment of exotic annual grasses that impact rangeland health  Protection/Enhancement: Incorporate NRCS programs such as CSP, RCPP and ACEP to provide ranchers with options to further protect their land through easements and enhancements.  Whole Ranch Planning to Address All Threats: Provide opportunities for ranchers to apply a holistic planning approach to their land. Includes working with other agencies and partners to support tools such as CCAAs and other forms of regulatory protection or certainty.

Priority #1: Conifer Encroachment  Phase 1 and 2 on private lands  Targets for treatment by 2018: - 95% within Focal Project Areas - 90% within PACs statewide - 75% within low density habitats statewide  Primary Funding Program: EQIP

Priority #2: Annual Grasses  Focus on sites with good understory in PACs  Strategies: - Find and eradicate small infestations of annual grasses - Limit spread from large infestations - Promote perennial bunchgrass health - Pre and post-fire  Prioritize landscapes with weed inventories and collaboration across ownerships  Primary Funding Program: EQIP

Priority #3: Protection/Enhancement  Prevent ranch fragmentation and incentivize maintenance of working landscapes  Permanent easements and long-term stewardship agreements (ALE, CSP, RCPP)  Prioritize ‘core of core’ and important mesic habitats

Priority #4: Whole Ranch Planning to Address All Threats  Producers commit to addressing all threats on their operation  Tools: CCAAs and/or NRCS-SGI conservation planning  Prioritizes enrollment in PACs  Regulatory certainty for up to 30 years  Funding Programs: EQIP, CSP, RCPP

Oregon’s Sage Grouse RCPP  Funded through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) – a new program in the 2014 Farm Bill  Awarded in January 2015  Five-year project  NRCS 5-year investment: $9 million  Partner 5-year investment: $9 million  Lead partner: Oregon Association of Conservation Districts  Project helps ranchers perform a variety of rangeland health conservation practices to successfully implement site-specific CCAA plans.

Read the Strategy Visit the NRCS Oregon website at and click the “Sage Grouse Initiative” icon on the homepage, then scroll down to find the “SGI Oregon Implementation Strategy.” OR Visit our shortlink at: