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Invasive Plant
Management and
Greater Sage-Grouse
Conservation:
A Review and Status Report with Strategic Recommendations for Improvement
Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies • Wildfire and Invasive Species Initiative – Working Group
© NOPPADOL PAOTHONG
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Invasive Plant Management and Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation:
A Review and Status Report with Strategic Recommendations for Improvement
Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies • Wildfire and Invasive Species Initiative – Working Group
USFWS Conservation Objectives Team Report (2013): Objective:
“The long-term conservation of sage-grouse and healthy sagebrush shrub and
native perennial grass and forb communities by maintaining viable, connected,
and well-distributed populations and habitat across their range, through threat
amelioration, conservation of key habitats, and restoration activities.”
© KATHLEEN TADVICK/CPW
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Invasive Plant Management and Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation:
A Review and Status Report with Strategic Recommendations for Improvement
Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies • Wildfire and Invasive Species Initiative – Working Group
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WAFWA Wildfire and Invasive Species Initiative Working Group:
Pete Anderson, Chad Boyd, Jeanne Chambers, Tom Christiansen, Dawn Davis, Shawn Espinosa, Doug Havlina, Todd Hopkins, Michael Ielmini,
Don Kemner, Laurie Kurth, Jeremy Maestas, Brian Mealor, Kenneth Mayer, Mike Pellant, David Pyke, Joe Tague, and Jason Vernon. 2015.
Acknowledgements
This document was developed by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) Wildfire and Invasive Species Initiative
Working Group — Invasive Species Subcommittee (hereafter the Working Group), in cooperation with the Center for Invasive Species Manage- ment, Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. This document and the associated strategic recommendations are based on information
provided by a broad range of private, local, state, and national invasive plant management and research organizations, agencies, and professionals
across the western United States; including nearly 300 invasive weed managers participating in the 2014 assessment of western weed manage- ment programs. Members of the Working Group include representatives from Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, the U.S. Department of
the Interior Geological Survey, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, the USDA Forest Service, the Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative, and the
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The Working Group extends a special thanks to the staff and leadership of the Center for Inva- sive Species Management (CISM) for their support during this effort.
The Working Group also gratefully acknowledges the members and affiliates of the Western Weed Coordinating Committee, the North Ameri- can Invasive Species Network, the North American Exotic Pest Plant Council, the Missouri River Watershed Coalition, and the North American
Invasive Species Management Association for their cooperation and professional insight into invasive plant management program operations
across the historic and current range of the greater sage-grouse. In addition, we wish to thank the Federal Interagency Committee for the Manage- ment of Noxious and Exotic Weeds, the National Invasive Species Council, the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, the Tamarisk
Coalition, and non-government members of the national Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC) for information used to develop portions
of this document. The Working Group also extends its gratitude to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (AFWA) Invasive Species
Committee, particularly committee chairman William Hyatt and AFWA staff member Priya Nanjappa for their invaluable assistance in devel- oping the content for key sections of the document and providing some of the strategic recommendations used in this report. For their support,
validation, and ideas during the development of the report and the strategic recommendations, we extend a special thank you to the following
invasive plant management professionals: Steve Ryder, Colorado State Weed Coordinator; Tim Butler, Oregon State Weed Coordinator; Slade
Franklin, Wyoming State Weed Coordinator; Dean Kelch, California State Weed Coordinator; Eric Lane, Director of Conservation Services,
Colorado Department of Agriculture; Jim Olivarez, Missoula County, Montana; Carl Crabtree, Idaho County, Idaho; Dr. George Beck, Weed
Scientist, Colorado State University; Matt Voile, Idaho State Weed Coordinator; Rich Riding, Utah State Weed Coordinator; and Jamie Greer,
Nevada State Weed Coordinator.
Lastly, we would like to thank Theo Stein with the USFWS and Dr. Tom Remington with WAFWA for their editorial support, San Stiver with
WAFWA and Lara Niell with the Nevada Department of Wildlife for their assistance throughout the project and Wayne Lewis with Colorado
Parks and Wildlife for his assistance with the layout, design and publication of the report. Financial support for the CISM region-wide program
assessment and development of this document was provided by the Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative, in addition to support
provided by WAFWA and the USFWS.