Wendell Gilgert

Point Blue Conservation Science · Emerging Programs and Partnerships

Biological knowledge about bird focal species may be used to inform planning, habitat management, and restoration efforts, with the assumption that the implementation of these species-based recommendations will maintain and enhance healthy functioning habitats and the ecosystems services they provide. Point Blue Conservation Science in collaboratio...

Background / Purpose: Our purpose is to work collaboratively with Ranchers, USDA NRCS and partners to adjust grazing management practices to improve soil dynamic properties, increase vegetative diversity, improve wildlife habitat, and keep ranching viable. Main conclusion: By using improved conservation and grazing management practices, the pr...

Background/Question/Methods Point Blue Conservation Science (PBCS) is collaborating with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), cooperating ranchers, and several partners in an effort to improve soil, vegetation (forage) and wildlife habitat on foothill rangeland watersheds in California’s Great Valley. By applying prescribed (pl...

The current range of lekking grouse, including greater sage-grouse, Gunnison sage-grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, greater prairie-chickens, and lesser prairie-chickens, covers much of the rangeland in the western and central US as well as portions of southwestern and south central Canada. Located in northeast Utah, Deseret Land and Livestock is a 200,...

Wendell Gilgert and Mace Vaughan examine the value of pollinators and pollinator habitat to rangelands, focusing on connections among pollinators, insects, plant communities, fish, and wildlife. Native pollinating bees are a vital component of the biologically diverse plant and animal community which is critical to healthy, ecologically functional...

Domestic livestock – cattle, sheep, horses, and goats – are typically thought of as the primary grazers (and browsers) on rangelands. Yet, this is the proverbial tip of the iceberg, given the many species that utilize rangelands. Even when wildlife species are thrown into the mix, most people think of the large ungulates – deer, antelope, elk, moos...

Ecological Site Descriptions (ESD) represent an emerging tool to assist land managers and owners in understanding their landscapes and how they work, or function, in an ecological context. Despite the recognition provided in the MA report, there are numerous examples in which the values of ecosystem services go unrecognized, leading to great econom...

The articles by Schroeder et al and Brunner regarding sage-grouse help enlighten some points about Society for Range Management's (SRM) nontechnical publications. These points include the need for a rigorous peer-review process in publishing issue papers and the need to clearly separate peer-reviewed literature from editorial pieces in Rangelands....

We evaluated the effect of habitat use and other sources of variation on survival of lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) and greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) nests and broods. Daily nest and brood-survival probabilities were a function of a quadratic time trend, and both declined as the season progressed. Daily nest surv...

Traditionally, exurban lands in Colorado have been subdivided into a grid of parcels ranging from 2 to 16 ha. From an ecological perspective, this dispersed pattern of development effectively maximizes the individual influence of each home on the land. Clustered housing developments, designed to maximize open space, are assumed to benefit plant and...

Private lands in the American West are undergoing a land-use conversion from agriculture to exurban development, although little is known about the ecological consequences of this change. Some nongovernmental organizations are working with ranchers to keep their lands out of development and in ranching, ostensibly because they believe biodiversity...

Rural private lands in the Mountain West of the United States are undergoing a profound land-use conversion, from agriculture to low-density residential or exurban development, though little scientific study documents the ecological consequences of this change. Nongovernmental conservation organizations are working with ranchers to keep rangeland o...

Rural private lands in the Mountain West of the United States are undergoing a profound land-use conversion, from agriculture to low-density residential or exurban development, though little scientific study documents the ecological consequences of this change. Nongovernmental conservation organizations are working with ranchers to keep rangeland o...