Category: Botany

Simulating the Recovery of Big Sagebrush Communities from Disturbances Due to Oil and Gas Extraction

Posted on by Meghanlata Gupta

At well pads—areas developed for oil and gas drilling—both the vegetation and topsoil are completely removed. After drilling infrastructure is installed, these areas are reclaimed, meaning the topsoil is then replaced, and the areas are seeded with various mixes of species. Despite reclamation efforts, big sagebrush communities have an extremely hard time returning to a Read more about Simulating the Recovery of Big Sagebrush Communities from Disturbances Due to Oil and Gas Extraction[…]

Rebirth after Fire — Zhi Li

Posted on by Downey, Michelle

Zhi Li, MFs 20′, spent his 2019 summer in California’s forests conducting research related to fire. This involved camping with a team in 8-night stints and taking vegetation measures day in and day out. Zhi’s hard work on this collaborative research has been condensed into a story map he created and is located here. Student Read more about Rebirth after Fire — Zhi Li[…]

Field Research in California’s Forest after Wildfire — Zhi Li

Posted on by Downey, Michelle

When I present my research to the F&ES community, all I will see is the flashback of this summer: a summer I spent in California with a Californian man who is like a tree and three women from Georgia, Sweden, and Boston respectively. It was a summer with heat and sweat, tons of hiking and Read more about Field Research in California’s Forest after Wildfire — Zhi Li[…]

Development of a Feasibility Tool to Evaluate Grassbank Potential in Thunder Basin, Wyoming

Posted on by Meghanlata Gupta

Our team worked with The Nature Conservancy Wyoming to research the feasibility of a creative approach to grassland conservation in the Thunder Basin region of Wyoming. The approach is called “grassbanking” and it brings together ranchers and conservation organizations to enhance environmental performance and ranching livelihoods by offering access to discounted grazing leases in exchange Read more about Development of a Feasibility Tool to Evaluate Grassbank Potential in Thunder Basin, Wyoming[…]

Investigating the Socioecological Importance of Pinyon Forests for Paiute Communities in the Great Basin

Posted on by Barendregt-Ludwig, Kristin

Paul’s project investigates socioecological change affecting Paiute communities in California and Nevada. It examines the cultural importance of pinyon forests on lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and focuses on the development of new approaches to forest management that promote Paiute traditional foods and silvicultural practices. The Great Basin is experiencing increasing frequency of Read more about Investigating the Socioecological Importance of Pinyon Forests for Paiute Communities in the Great Basin[…]

Exploring the Ecological Impacts of Wildfire in Coniferous Forests in Sierra Nevada

Posted on by Barendregt-Ludwig, Kristin

Findings Visit Zhi’s story map here to learn more about forest management recommendations in burn areas. Summary Zhi’s ecological research in the central Sierra Nevadas explores the role of wildfire in forest ecosystems. Large, severe fires have been increasing in recent decades and present major economic and ecological challenges in the western United States. Through Read more about Exploring the Ecological Impacts of Wildfire in Coniferous Forests in Sierra Nevada[…]

Communicating Vegetation Response after Fire in the Bridger-Teton National Forest

Posted on by Meghanlata Gupta

Our student research assistants partnered with Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) in Wyoming to create a report on the stand dynamics of postfire vegetative regeneration and management implications. Wildfire serves an important ecological role in maintaining species composition and forest structure in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Previous management practices have employed prescribed burning as a tool Read more about Communicating Vegetation Response after Fire in the Bridger-Teton National Forest[…]

Reconciling Landownership and Sage-Grouse Management Designation Data

Posted on by Meghanlata Gupta

This is an inter-agency project led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. Federal and State agencies frequently respond to requests for analyses of land status within the sagebrush biome, such as acres of land ownership or management designation. However, across agencies the results are inconsistent. The goal for this Read more about Reconciling Landownership and Sage-Grouse Management Designation Data[…]

A Girl Scout’s Walden (Part Two) — Franklin Eccher

Posted on by ucross-admin

Trey Davis, the Preserve Manager at The Nature Conservancy’s Tensleep Preserve, described Tensleep as “a place of superlatives.” Everything at Tensleep is the oldest, the most diverse, the most valuable to researchers, and yet in order for those superlatives to remain true the place must also remain relatively unknown and untouched. My explorations of the Read more about A Girl Scout’s Walden (Part Two) — Franklin Eccher[…]

Ranch Crew: 2018 Overview — Caleb Gray (a Uni. of WY student)

Posted on by ucross-admin

Ranch Crew was an excellent opportunity that I was able to take ahold of, but I was not entirely prepared for what all it entailed. When first glancing over the flyer for it I thought that it might be working as a ranch hand for part of the two weeks, but it was not to Read more about Ranch Crew: 2018 Overview — Caleb Gray (a Uni. of WY student)[…]

July 12 to 15: WRF Summer Retreat at Tensleep Preserve

Posted on by ucross-admin

For four sunny days, TNC’s Tensleep Preserve in Ten Sleep, WY set the scene for a gathering of researchers, land managers and students working on questions relevant to land management in the intermountain West. People came from near and far to participate in the retreat, flying in from California, North Dakota, Texas and Connecticut or Read more about July 12 to 15: WRF Summer Retreat at Tensleep Preserve[…]

Changing Perspectives: The Enemy is Everywhere — Reid Lewis

Posted on by ucross-admin

I had the pleasure of arriving to Sheridan, Wyoming via road trip. My father, recently retired, proposed to turn the drive into a camping trip, and he and I spent three great days traveling the plains and mountains of Utah and Wyoming. Passing through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, the drive was extraordinary. Coming Read more about Changing Perspectives: The Enemy is Everywhere — Reid Lewis[…]

Ranch Crew 2018: An Immersive Experience in Rangeland Ecology and Management — Lexi Smith

Posted on by ucross-admin

June 2018 was Ranch Crew month for several students (including myself), Ucross members, and collaborating partners from ranch managers to plant ecologists. Ranch Crew is not necessarily what it sounds like. It is so much more than that. Ranch Crew is a two-week immersive experience in rangeland ecology, management, and last but not least…culture! Since Read more about Ranch Crew 2018: An Immersive Experience in Rangeland Ecology and Management — Lexi Smith[…]

Forensic Ecology — Sam Maher

Posted on by ucross-admin

Sometimes studying wildlife feels a bit like you’re a detective solving a mystery. You’ve got a question that no one really knows the answer to, a whole lot of information that may or may not be relevant, and probably some bureaucracy to navigate. But when solving it means that you might help a critter’s chance Read more about Forensic Ecology — Sam Maher[…]

Plant ID with the Ranch Crew — Katie Panek

Posted on by ucross-admin

During the first week of Ranch Crew, we discovered the joys of Plant ID – or should I say, what is joyful to some (looking at you, Rachel Renne), and painful to others. Our first task was to gather grass from a roadside in the Bighorn Mountains just thirty minutes northwest of Sheridan, WY. The Read more about Plant ID with the Ranch Crew — Katie Panek[…]