The baker sagegrouse local implementation team hereafter, baker LIT is made up of several partners including the tricounty cwma, U.S. Fish wildlife service, bureau of land management, natural resource…

This $105,446 Cooperative Agreement awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Recovery Implementation Program (CFDA 15.657) funds the Baker Sagegrouse Local Implementation Team (Baker LIT) to strategically implement conservation actions to increase the quality and quantity of sagebrush habitat and reverse the Baker County sage-grouse population decline in Oregon. Key activities include treating invasive annual grasses and noxious weeds, enhancing nesting and brood-rearing habitat, and reducing wildfire risk across public and private lands. The Baker LIT is a partnership of federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as private landowners, working collaboratively to execute the Baker LIT Strategic Action Plan. This 3-year award builds upon previous OWEB grant funding and aims to connect and expand on past habitat restoration efforts to achieve landscape-level management and conservation.

The baker sagegrouse local implementation team hereafter, baker LIT is made up of several partners including the tricounty cwma, U.S. Fish wildlife service, bureau of land management, natural resource conservation service, oregon department of fish wildlife, baker county, powder basin watershed council, and private landowners. The overarching goal of the baker LIT is to strategically implement conservation actions to increase the quality and quantity of sagebrush habitat and reverse baker county sagegrouse population trends. Although some populations in oregon show stable or even increasing populations, the baker county population remains a concern as the population has decreased by an estimated 91.7% since 1960 19602023, outpacing the range wide decline of 83.8% over the same period. While the population has shown some improvement over the last couple of decades, recovery remains slow, and a proactive approach is needed to stabilize the population. Conservation actions are conducted under the baker lits strategic action plan SAP which guides management activities to improve sagegrouse populations and habitat. In 2019, the baker LIT was awarded a S6.1 million grant through oregon watershed enhancement boards oweb focused investment partnership FIP program which provided a muchneeded financial boost to accelerate sagegrouse conservation efforts outlined in the SAP. After several years of implementation success, the baker LIT is seeking BIL conservation delivery funds to build upon our previous and ongoing habitat restoration work. Specifically, projects outlined in this proposal will be used to focus on areas which have not received treatments thereby connecting and expanding upon projects see attached map resulting in large landscape level management. Efforts are primarily focused to treat invasive annual grasses IAG and noxious weeds to connect fragmented landscapes, enhance nest and brood rearing habitat, and reduce wildfire risk.