Please join Pahove for “The Sagebrush Sea in Southeastern Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming: Composition, Distinction, and Conservation Value” , presented by Dr. Matt Lavin, Montana State University. Tuesday, March 14th, at 7pm, at the MK Nature Center. A zoom link will be available.

Abstract: Understanding the composition, distinction, and conservation value of mountain and Wyoming big sagebrush steppe vegetation in Western North America is important for managing the relatively few areas where this vegetation remains intact. A potential distinction of mountain and Wyoming big sagebrush steppe, in at least the northeastern quadrant of this biome, includes its natural resistance and resilience to impactful disturbances, an idea first postulated by Jay Anderson at Idaho State University. Anderson suggested that over-management of post-disturbance sagebrush steppe potentially impedes its natural ability to regenerate. This assertion likely holds true for so-called invasive plant species, which are often absent to rarely abundant in sagebrush steppe of southeastern Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming that have the hallmarks of being “pristine.” Over-management of so-called invasive plants in this region of sagebrush steppe only raises the probability that they will become more abundant.