National Park Service

Monitoring Sagebrush-steppe Vegetation in the Upper Columbia Basin Network National Park Service

Publisher Marketing: The Upper Columbia Basin Network of the National Park Service has identified 14 priority park vital signs, indicators of ecosystem health, which represent a broad suite of ecological phenomena operating across multiple temporal and spatial scales. Our intent has been to monitor a balanced and integrated "package" of vital signs that meets the needs of current park management, but will also be able to accommodate unanticipated environmental conditions in the future. Sagebrush steppe is one particularly high priority vital sign for five UCBN parks: City of Rocks National Reserve (CIRO), Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve (CRMO), Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument (HAFO), John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (JODA), and Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (LARO). Sagebrush steppe occupies over 50% of land cover in CIRO, HAFO, and JODA, and over 90% of the vegetated area of CRMO. At LARO, sagebrush steppe is present and significant in the southern half of the park and represents an important park ecosystem. Historic and current land use practices both within and adjacent to UCBN park steppe communities continue to fragment and alter steppe ecosystems, and predicted climate change scenarios for the region will likely exacerbate these changes.