Climate change, cheatgrass, and increases in wildfire frequency are significant threats to big sagebrush rangelands. Frequent fire can provide opportunities for cheatgrass, a non-native annual grass, to colonize, resulting in negative effects for native species, increases in fire risk, and potential transitions from native shrublands to non-native grasslands. We currently know little about how cheatgrass and fire will affect big sagebrush rangelands in the future. Our objective was to assess the vulnerability of big sagebrush plant communities to changes in future climate, fire, and cheatgrass to guide conservation priorities and planning efforts. This work developed maps of projected 21st century changes in the abundance of important components of big sagebrush plant communities across the region. Results from this analysis demonstrate that climate change has strong potential to exacerbate the impacts of cheatgrass and wildfire. In the absence of wildfire, projected future declines in big sagebrush are relatively modest (Palmquist et al. 2021). In contrast, the combination of climate change and wildfire results in more substantial and widespread declines in big sagebrush, including in portions of the region that have been historically resilient to cheatgrass invasion (England et al. in prep.). In addition, our results suggest a potential shift in the composition of perennial grasses in the region from dominance by cool-season grasses, to dominance to warm-season grasses (Palmquist et al. 2021). This shift would have dramatic negative impacts on the services provided by big sagebrush ecosystems, particularly wildlife habitat value and grazing utilization. These results are designed for range-wide conservation and land treatment prioritization, and are being used in a new interagency sagebrush landscape conservation framework led by the USFWS and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (Doherty et al. in review).
Advancing Climate Resilience with the Tribal Adaptation Menu
Janna Black, North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center Tribal Liaison, attended the Tribal Adaptation Menu (TAM) Train-the-Trainer Workshop in Minneapolis, MN, on July 22–24.
Building Ethical Space
The Traditional Ecological Knowledge Workshop was a two-part virtual training designed to equip participants with the foundational knowledge and practical skills necessary for engaging with Indigenous Peoples, Nations, and communities in collaborative natural resource research and decision-making.
Ecological Acclimation
Ecosystems respond to climate change at radically different speeds, from immediate physiological shifts to centuries-long evolutionary changes, thus making it difficult to predict how they’ll evolve over time. A new study introduces “ecological acclimation” as a unifying framework to integrate fast and slow biological responses across species and systems.
May/June 2025 Newsletter - Now Out
The next NC CASC newsletter is now out. Explore stories on ecological scenarios for climate-smart management, fighting fire with fire, and wildly unpredictable warm-season rains.
New Publication on Climate Change Adaptation in National Parks
A new study quantifies both the magnitude of projected mid-century climate change and the associated uncertainty within 332 national park units in the continental United States.
Warm-Season Rainfall in the Northern Great Plains
The Northern Great Plains (NGP), spanning Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Nebraska, is more than just America’s agricultural heartland. This vast region produces two-thirds of U.S. wheat and over half its beef, while its unique "pothole" wetlands support 50% of North America’s waterfowl.
Fighting Fire with Fire
As another fire season begins across the western U.S., one of the most effective tools for reducing catastrophic wildfire remains underused: controlled burns. When executed correctly, they can prevent a smoldering forest floor from becoming a catastrophic inferno.
Contact Us
Want to see more? Do you have feedback? Was this site helpful? Send us an email!