Extension Service Site Publications

• (2023) Threat-based Management for Creeks, Streams and Rivers This guide is a decision-support tool for understanding how riparian areas such as creeks, rivers and streams should function in sagebrush ecosystems. Land managers can determine whether a riparian area is functioning properly and how to restore or maintain proper function.
• (2022) Range management is (or should be) fire management What rangeland managers do before a wildfire can matter a lot for what happens during and after. That is, whether and how a site recovers after it burns, and how likely it is to burn again in a future wildfire. Rangeland resilience to fire and resistance to annual grass invasion are related to the occurrence and outcomes of wildfire. How can rangeland managers use these concepts to reduce risk and limit some negative impacts when wildfires occur?
• (2012) Pace 180° and repeat photography: monitoring methods for documenting vegetation trends in sagebrush rangelands Monitoring trends in vegetation is an important component of effective rangeland management. There are many monitoring methods but two stand out for being easy to use, efficient, repeatable and effective.
• (2022) Ranching in the information age: The ranch hand you didn’t know you needed Eastern Oregon’s rangelands are diverse due to different soils, topography and climate. Ranchers and land managers who view the landscape as a collection of ecological sites can better predict how vegetation and other resources respond to management actions, drought and natural disturbances. This improves their rangeland management decisions and increases profits.
• (2022) Grazing Management for Rangeland Health: A Threat-based Land Management Approach The sagebrush ecosystem is shrinking at an alarming rate. Threat-based land management provides a framework for improving grazing and management and adjusting as conditions change. Monitoring and the Grazing Response Index are vital to those adjustments. So is broadening the view of grazing from converting forage into beef to seeing grazing as a resource management tool.
• (2019) How to monitor progress in grazing land management A critical but often overlooked step in the development of a comprehensive grazing management plan is a well-defined monitoring program for evaluating progress toward management objectives.
• (2019) Bunchgrass phenology: Using growth stages of grasses as adaptive grazing management tools Livestock grazing in the high desert involves a balance of sustainable vegetation management in a shifting environment. Knowing which plant stages are most sensitive can help managers strategize.
• (2019) Threat-Based Land Management in the Northern Great Basin: A Field Guide Sagebrush ecosystems in the northern Great Basin are threatened by encroaching juniper and invasive annual grasses. This guide presents a simplified framework to help land managers assess and monitor these threats at large scales. By mapping out different ecological states on your land, identifying their level of risk, and estimating how those states might change, you can choose appropriate management actions.
  The publication is a full-color, double-sided poster that measures 17 x 33 inches when fully opened, and folds down to 8.5 x 11 inches. Designed specifically for use in the field, it is printed on durable paper with water-resistant inks.
  For a more in-depth resource with greater detail and background on this process, see the companion booklet Threat-Based Land Management in the Northern Great Basin: A Manager's Guide (PNW 722).
• (2019) Threat-Based Land Management in the Northern Great Basin: A Manager’s Guide Sagebrush ecosystems in the northern Great Basin are threatened by encroaching juniper and invasive annual grasses. This guide presents a simplified framework to help land managers assess and monitor these threats at large scales. By mapping out different ecological states on your land, identifying their level of risk, and estimating how those states might change, you can choose appropriate management actions.
  This booklet outlines a six-step approach to threat-based land management. For work in the field, especially identifying ecological states, see the condensed resource Threat-Based Land Management in the Northern Great Basin: A Field Guide (PNW 723), which comes as a double-sided, foldable poster.
• (2019) How do you photo monitor for rangeland health? Dustin Johnson and Sergio Arispe discuss photo monitoring of rangelands and demonstrate a simple step-by-step process for establishing a permanent photo point.
• (2018) Western Roots: Diving into a sagebrush sea of diversity What may appear at first glance as a sea of sagebrush is in reality a complex and diverse ecosystem with a wide variety of plants and animals. The sagebrush steppe teems with life, but threats such as wildfire, grazing and invasive species are affecting the resilience of rangeland across the Northwest. Learn more about the groups of plants that make up a healthy rangeland ecosystem.
• (2013) Can cows find water by smell?