Sagebrush landscapes support wildlife, working lands and communities across much of the northwestern United States, but wildfire, invasive species, drought and increasing climate variability are making these ecosystems increasingly difficult to restore. An important challenge is deciding which plants to use for restoration. Sagebrush populations are adapted to different environmental conditions, meaning that seed collected from one location may not be well suited for another, and plants that are well suited to a site today may face very different conditions in the future.

Trevor Faske’s project will examine how genetics and environmental conditions shape adaptation in big sagebrush across Idaho, Oregon, Washington and western Montana. Using genetic information from hundreds of sagebrush plants already collected across the region, the project team will identify how sagebrush populations differ and determine which aspects of climate, including drought, precipitation and extreme heat, are associated with those differences. Trevor will work with academics (University of Nevada, Reno), federal scientists (U.S. Geological Survey), land managers (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and nonprofit partners (Landscape Stewardship Collective) throughout the project, including U.S. Geological Survey scientists who are developing detailed information about water availability, soils and drought across sagebrush landscapes. Together, these data will be used to identify where sagebrush populations may be well matched, or poorly matched, to future environmental conditions.

The ultimate goal is to turn this information into practical guidance for restoration and conservation. Through this project, Trevor will produce maps and web-based tools that managers can use to identify appropriate areas for collecting and planting seed, recognize places where existing sagebrush may be particularly vulnerable to future conditions, and evaluate where actions such as moving plant materials or protecting existing populations may be most useful. These maps will be used by land managers in order to change how seed sourcing is conducted for the sagebrush steppe. By connecting information about sagebrush genetics with the decisions managers already make about restoration, Trevor aims to improve the likelihood that restored plant communities will establish, persist and support healthy sagebrush ecosystems into the future.