Program Areas

Conservation Geography is primarily focused on the management of public lands (both state and federal) and natural resources in the western United States. Within that context we work on a broad array of issues and strategies focused on protecting and restoring the health of our ecosystems and the fish and wildlife species they support.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity loss has become a global crisis and alleviating the crisis requires a deliberate approach to conservation planning based explicitly on maximizing species protection. We have developed a Conservation Plan of Idaho that identifies high quality, diverse, and under-protected habitats and aquatic systems across the state based on the principles of conservation biology. Results of the study are being used by advocacy groups to support proactive participation in local and regional planning efforts. The Conservation Plan of Idaho and underlying information are also being used for rapid assessment of proposed resource development projects and alternatives analyses.

Fish & Wildlife

Biodiversity protection, although a critical factor in conservation planning, is of more limited use when developing place-based organizing and litigation strategies. These activities often require focusing on individual species that are either of interest to local constituents or provide political/legal leverage. In this context we have designed and conducted a variety of analyses related to the distribution, strongholds, and threats for numerous fish and wildlife species. This has included both ends of the management spectrum from rare species with full protection under the Endangered Species Act to game species.

Forest Management

Forest Management continues to be dominated by political and industrial interests seeking to weaken federal environmental protections. We have developed detailed resource characterizations of forest landscapes to support the integration of science, law, and advocacy in strategic conservation planning. Our work is critical to the substantive participation of conservation interests in the forest plan revision process.

Sage-Steppe

The Sagebrush Sea, encompassing 150 million acres of the interior West, provides critical habitat to over200 sagebrush obligate species. Our work supports proactive strategies for land protection; litigation of destructive livestock management practices; and public education on the ecological values and threats to this landscape.