WSU Helping with Sage Grouse Research Project

WSU Helping with Sage Grouse Research Project

Russell Nemetz
Russell Nemetz
Hi everybody it's time for your Land and Livestock Report here on the Ag Information Network of the West-I'm Russell Nemetz.

How greater sage-grouse conservation practices have affected ranch economics across six states is being studied by a University of Wyoming research team.

The group in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management will draw input from local ranchers across Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Montana and Washington, said John Tanaka, professor and associate director of the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station.

The team will develop cow-calf ranch enterprise budgets for use in models to estimate the economic impacts of different conservation practices on ranches, said Holly Kirkpatrick, one of the research assistants.

Partnerships between federal and state agencies and private landowners have reduced threats to greater sage-grouse in 90 percent of the species' breeding habitat, said Tanaka. He said the practices have changed the way livestock are grazed on millions of acres of land across the western United States, especially on public lands.

Tip Hudson with Washington State University working, with University of Wyoming will be putting together a short meeting with some ranchers to discuss this and collect some data on ranch practices and estimated costs at WCA Convention November 8-10 in Kennewick.

That's your Land and Livestock Report-I'm Russell Nemetz.

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