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Adaptive Management in Sage-grouse Habitat Restoration
Petroleum Association of Wyoming 12th Annual Reclamation Conference
Improving Practices and Decisions Through Adaptive ManagementDouglas Core Area Restoration Team
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Who is the Douglas Core Area Restoration Team?
A multi-stakeholder team comprised of partners working
to advance collective knowledge of sage-grouse
habitat conservation.
Initial Site Tour, conducted in Spring 2014
The team’s focus has been:1. Developing projects to enhance sage-grouse seasonal habitat2. Restoring previously disturbed habitat3. Implementing projects that target local threats to sage-grouse
in northeastern WYInitial Site Tour, conducted in Spring 2014
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The Douglas Core Area Restoration TeamA Multi-Stakeholder Team
USDA-NRCSWilliams Wyoming Department of AgricultureWyoming Game and Fish DepartmentWyoming Stockgrowers Land Trust
DCA RT Technical Support: Trihydro Corporation and WEST Inc.
Audubon RockiesBureau of Land ManagementChesapeake EnergyConverse County Conservation DistrictCrestwood MidstreamThe Nature ConservancyThunder Basin Grasslands Prairie
Ecosystem AssociationUnited States Fish and Wildlife ServiceUniversity of Wyoming
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Presentation Outline
1. Establishment of the Douglas Core Area Restoration Team
2. Using principles of adaptive management to enhance sage-grouse habitat
a. Research, learning, and change3. Approach – SGEO, Ecological, and Cost
elements4. Value of Collaboration and Outreach
Improving Practices and Decisions Through Adaptive Management
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How did the Douglas Core Area Restoration Team come together?
• 2013 – Chesapeake Energy Development Plan for the Douglas Core Area (DCA)
• Mitigation Hierarchy• Avoid• Minimize• Mitigate
• Restoration Team (RT) was established to enhance sage-grouse habitat within the DCA
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Background on the Douglas Core Area• Eastern Wyoming• Core Area along the
eastern boundary of current distribution of Greater sage-grouse
• In 2013, disturbance > 5%
• Valid and existing rights for oil and gas development
• Small number of birds and leks
• Numerous wildfires within the last 25 years
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Sagebrush ecosystem• Post-wildfire recovery
differs across the ecosystem
• In northeast WY, perennial herbaceous species rapidly return
• Recovery can take decades or centuries
Credit: USGS 2014
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Reducing Disturbance within the Douglas Core Area
• Reclassifying successfully reclaimed oil and gas pipelines and well pads (182 acres)
• Focusing on several wildfire areas (> 5000 acres)
• Six project sites (2014-2018)
• Approximately 100,000 sagebrush seedlings planted
• 992 acres in discrete project areas including a recent (2016) burn
• 5,280 acres in North Burn; projects complementing WGFD planting efforts
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Using Adaptive Management to Enhance Habitat
2013 2014 2020
DCA RT forms
2015 20172016 2018 2019
East Antelope
Flat Top Project
Walker Creek S-19
DCA RT Restoration Plan
Projects Monitoring
Walker Creek North Burn 1
South Fork Walker Creek
Bill Hall Burn 1
Walker Creek North Burn 2
Bill Hall Burn 2
East Antelope 2
Walker Creek North Burn 3
Flat Top Project 2
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Seed source islands – Sagebrush OutplantingsBurn perimeter
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Approach and Adaptive Management in Restoration
1. Survival2. Growth of individual seedlings3. Development into patches of cover with
functional value and future target of 5% sagebrush cover
4. Recruitmenta. Seedhead production and viable
seedb. Successful germination and
establishment from seed produced by planted seedlings
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1. Initial recruitment-outplanting/establishing seed source “islands”
2. Resource competition –fabric mulch
3. Herbivory – fencing4. Facilitating future
recruitment – current research
Sagebrush Restoration within the Douglas Core Area – Confronting the Challenges
Goals: Survival, growth, persistence, reproductive maturity
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Sagebrush Outplanting Investigations• Fencing/Exclosures• Planting method – auger versus hoedad• Fabric mulch size• Seedling planting density• Timeframe to removing infrastructure, fabric
mulch• Costs (labor and material)
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East Antelope Burn Restoration Project• High Priority• UW graduate student research site• Learning experience• Area: 262 Acres; 16,000 seedlings
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Balancing the trade-offs between cost and project success
• Reviewing results annually• Key Success Indicators – Some constant and some have
changed• Gathering/analyzing data on initial, short-, and long-
term growth and survival• Each project reflects lessons learned
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What have we learned?Short-term• Sagebrush outplantings accelerate
restoration process• Survival of outplanted seedlings is
high• Fabric mulch and fencing help to
maximize growth• Seed production starts after 1-2 years
post-planting • Area of impact can be limited, cost
can be high • Local seed is valuable• Choosing good contractors is essential
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What have we learned?
?
Long-term• Restoring wildfire (or intact) areas is difficult,
takes time, and has an uncertain trajectory• Recruitment is unpredictable• Area of impact can be limited • Herbivory is significant• Long-term growth and changes in cover are
slow• Sage-grouse have begun to use some
restoration areas• Returning large landscapes to suitable
habitat (5% sagebrush cover) is an uncertain process
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Using Adaptive Management to Design Future Projects
1. Larger, lower density seed source islands across the landscapea. No protection, no mulch
2. Project design based on nearly 5 years of ecological and cost data
3. Continue to investigate recruitment4. Seed pods to enhance forb diversity
and sagebrush establishment5. Continue to build restoration data set
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Outreach, Stakeholders, Partnerships
• Landowner liaisons• Graduate student research assistantships• Successful working relationships with
private landowners• Team engagement with on-the-ground
fieldwork• Knowledge sharing – site tours,
presentations, white papers• Data sharing with landowners• Collaboration• Funding from Chesapeake Energy,
Crestwood Midstream, NRCS RCPP, WGFD-SWAT, WGFD-NELWG
Cornerstone of Project Success
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Conclusions – Sharing what we have learned• Evidence of use – If you build it, they
will use it• Data supported practices for
successfully re-establishing sagebrush• Making inroads into the longer term
understanding of sagebrush restoration within fire-impacted landscapes
• Private landowners and multi-stakeholder teams are partners in conservation/restoration
• Time and more research are needed to understand sagebrush recruitment and potential ways to facilitate it