Long-term data sets such as this one are rare and can be very valuable tools for land managers dealing with current resource management issues. The Stratton site is located about 30km west of Saratoga, Wyoming at an elevation of 2340 to 2370m. The area was grazed lightly to moderately by domestic sheep, antelope, and mule deer during its tenure as a study area. Average annual precipitation was 52.6cm, three-quarters of which was snow. The area is best described as late seral sagebrush steppe with mountain big sagebrush on deeper soils, Wyoming big sagebrush and black sage on shallower soils, and Idaho fescue, bluegrass, needlegrass, and sedge as understory species.
Cushion plants are common on exposed ridgetops and summits.
The average shrub canopy cover was 16 percent. Loco Creek was used as a control watershed for sagebrush eradication experiments. The ground cover data are portrayed in Figures 1 and 2. The present analysis is based on primary samples. The data were collected from mid-August to late September of each sampled year.