Gunnison basin cheatgrass and wet meadow implementation project 2022PROJECT abstractthis project will elevate the long term efforts of the conservation community of the gunnison basin of colorado to…

Gunnison basin cheatgrass and wet meadow implementation project 2022PROJECT abstractthis project will elevate the long term efforts of the conservation community of the gunnison basin of colorado to ensure that the western stronghold of north america s sagebrush biome is protected with strategic and collaborative conservation action project funding will support strategic efforts to deliver tangible outcomes of wet meadow restoration and sagebrush restoration within the gunnison basin this project seeks to significantly bolster the on going efforts of the local conservation community by supporting the existing wet meadow restoration efforts to enhance habitat for critical life stages of the gunnison sage grouse the project is highly collaborative, engaging federal, state, county, academic, and non profit partners to take deliberate action to protect, maintain, and restore gunnison basin s sagebrush habitat through wet meadow restoration collectively, these partner driven efforts will protect, enhance, and restore critical habitat for sagebrush obligate wildlife while supporting compatible land use like livestock grazing, recreation, and ecotourism we will use high resolution, remotely sensed imagery to map the occurrence of cheatgrass within the basin, as well as to inform locations for long term wet meadow projects and gain crucial visual data on sagebrush, perennial grass bare ground, and conifer cover at high spatial resolution funding will expedite on the ground projects on private and tribal lands over the next three years in doing so, this project will support the efforts of upper gunnison river water conservancy ugrwcd , colorado parks and wildlife CPW , and USFWS partners for fish and wildlife PFW and their leadership in the basin to restore wet meadow habitat post treatment monitoring over three years will allow in depth analysis of project and reproducibility in other locations project outcomes will engage western colorado university graduate students and support their research and efforts to further streamline and upscale wet meadow restoration further, funding will be dedicated to the outreach and volunteer efforts that gunnison basin proudly and successfully conducts to engage the community in both the wet meadow and cheatgrass projects with non profit partners through low tech structure construction and cheatgrass pulling the funding of this project is a pivotal moment for conservation in the gunnison basin and will allow USFWS to fully engage with the community as a partner beyond the direct impact and crucial acreage of these restoration efforts, this project symbolizes USFWS commitment to supporting and uplifting our federal, tribal, state, county, non profit, and academic partners in groundbreaking ways to support their decades of efforts to protect this essential sagebrush habitat