The Pawnee National Grasslands are designated as an area of ecological concern in terms of Colorado’s endangered, indigenous species such as the Mountain Plover or Charadrius montanus. The Mountain Plover relies on a proportional amount of shortgrass prairie for nesting and bare soil for hunting. Fledgling success is shown to be related to drought conditions, which determine proportion and health of shortgrass species. In recent years, there has been a significant decline in shortgrass due to alternating as well as simultaneous effects of drought, changes in fire regimes, and over-grazing. By monitoring drought conditions, one can identify decreasing trends in NDVI when drought is not present which may indicate potential over-grazing. However, when drought is present, the effects of such can be analyzed by the severity of drought in comparison to the significance of the decrease in NDVI to determine any other potential influences on NDVI.Interns: Jillian LaRoe, Joanitha VogelReport: Sustainable Grazing ColoradoView Spring 2017