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#           Trends, impacts, and cost of catastrophic and frequent wildfires in the sagebrush biome      

      April 27, 2023    

Fire regimes in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems have been greatly altered across the western United States. Broad-scale invasion of non-native annual grasses, climate change, and human activities have accelerated wildfire cycles, increased fire size and severity, and lengthened fire seasons in many sagebrush ecosystems to the point that current wildfire-management practices and postfire restoration efforts cannot keep pace to ameliorate the ecological consequences of sagebrush ecosystem loss. The greatest impact of uncharacteristically frequent fire is the transition from native sagebrush-perennial grass communities to invasive, non-native, annual grasslands that are highly flammable. These community transitions are often permanent, owing to the low probability of reestablishing native perennial plants in non-native annual grass−dominated communities. Moreover, these grasses can form extensive and continuous fine fuel loads that promote more frequent fire and the continued expansion of invasive, non-native annuals. More frequent, larger, and severe wildfires necessitate greater resources for fire-prevention, fire-suppression, and postfire restoration activities, while decreasing critical ecosystem services, economic and recreational opportunities, and cultural traditions. Increased flexibility and better prioritization of management activities based on ecological needs, including commitment to long-term prefire and postfire management, are needed to achieve notable reductions in uncharacteristic wildfire activity and associated negative impacts. Collaboration and partnerships across jurisdictional boundaries, agencies, and disciplines can improve consistency in sagebrush-management approaches and thereby contribute to this effort. Here, we provide a synthesis on sagebrush wildfire trends and the impacts of uncharacteristic fire regimes on sagebrush plant communities, dependent wildlife species, fire-suppression costs, and ecosystem services. We also provide an overview of wildland fire coordination efforts among federal, state, and tribal entities.

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#### James  R Meldrum, PhD

#####  Research Economist

Fort Collins Science Center

jmeldrum@usgs.gov

970-226-9176

#### Douglas J Shinneman

##### Supervisory Research Fire Ecologist

Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

dshinneman@usgs.gov

208-387-1369

#### Justin Welty

##### Biologist

Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

jwelty@usgs.gov

208-387-1337

## Related Content

#### James  R Meldrum, PhD

#####  Research Economist

Fort Collins Science Center

jmeldrum@usgs.gov

970-226-9176

#### Douglas J Shinneman

##### Supervisory Research Fire Ecologist

Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

dshinneman@usgs.gov

208-387-1369

#### Justin Welty

##### Biologist

Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

jwelty@usgs.gov

208-387-1337

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####               Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) Headquarters          

777 NW 9th StSuite 400Corvallis, OR97330United States

fresc_outreach@usgs.gov

541-750-1030

541-750-1069

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