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Great Basin: Wildfires, Invasive Species, & Climate Change Mike Pellant Great Basin Restoration Initiative Coordinator Boise, ID Cheatgrass.

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Presentation on theme: "Great Basin: Wildfires, Invasive Species, & Climate Change Mike Pellant Great Basin Restoration Initiative Coordinator Boise, ID Cheatgrass."— Presentation transcript:

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2 Great Basin: Wildfires, Invasive Species, & Climate Change Mike Pellant Great Basin Restoration Initiative Coordinator Boise, ID Cheatgrass

3 Great Basin OwnerAcres BLM73 million Private29 million USFS19 million State 4 million DOD 3 million Tribes 2 million Other 5 million Total135 million Great Basin

4 -Fire Suppression- $126 M -Fire Rehabilitation-$71 M -Loss of Sagebrush & Sage- grouse -Social-Economic Impacts Great Basin Wildfires 1990-2007 (2007 in red) 2007 2007 Costs:

5 Great Basin: Wildfires Are the Symptom…. Invasive Plants/Loss of Land Health is the Illness Invasive species: Flammable exotic annual grasses Native conifer encroachment Exotic forbs Cheatgrass Juniper Encroachment Knapweed

6 Expanding cheatgrass invasions into previously cold-limited environments (Keeley and McGinnis 2007) and sagebrush “migration” to the northern portion of the Great Basin (Neilson 2006)....many social, economic, legal, and ecological implications. Climate Change- Increased Temperature Southern Idaho sagebrush Sagebrush  JuniperCheatgrass in Ponderosa Pine

7 Rising CO 2 is predicted to increase the success of annual plants such as cheatgrass (Smith et. al 1987) and increase lignin (less digestible) content in cheatgrass (Ziska et al. 2005)...more fires! Cheatgrass Climate Change- Increased CO 2

8 “We are confronted by insurmountable opportunities” Pogo

9 SageSTEP- Fire/Fire Surrogates in the Sagebrush Biome SageSTEP Research Team http://www.sagestep.org

10 Great Basin Integrated Landscape Monitoring Project http://www.usgs.gov/features/greatbasin/index.html

11 Murphy Complex Wildfire: Livestock-Fuels Workgroup Report http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1214/

12 Great Basin: Challenges for the Future Invasives and climate change interactions Better regional climate change predictions Population expansion effects on water, wildfires, and invasive species Potential for Carbon sequestration on rangelands

13 “Healthy Great Basin landscapes and sustainable resources that meet the needs of the public that use and enjoy these lands”


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