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Online Tools for Northwest Federal Rangeland Managers

Two people measuring sagebrush. A woman holds a tablet and a man uses a measuring tape.
Two people take measurements of sagebrush for monitoring. Image credit: Jeremy Roberts, Conservation Media

Northwest federal rangelands span more than 36 million acres across Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, greater than 22 percent of the combined land area in these states. These lands provide many benefits, including forage for livestock, wildlife habitat, water filtration, recreation opportunities, and carbon sequestration. Federal rangelands are also culturally important to ranchers, Native Americans, outdoor enthusiasts, and others. The ecosystem services from rangelands and the human communities they support are vulnerable to climate change effects. Likely effects of climate change on Northwest rangelands include:

  • Increased size and frequency of fires
  • Increased frequency of drought and intense heat
  • Reduced snowpack and more precipitation falling as rain rather than snow
  • Increased variation and intensity of precipitation
  • Earlier plant green-up and browning (senescence)
  • Expansion of invasive annual grasses

Decision support tools

Decision support tools can help land managers understand, prepare for, and better respond to current climate conditions and the effects of climate change. When paired with local knowledge and on-the-ground assessments, these tools aid managers in identifying climate change effects and vulnerabilities. This information is needed to set priorities for climate change adaptation activities that help to sustain these valuable resources.

The online tools listed below provide information on weather, climate, stream flow, vegetation from satellite images, and some real-time information to see changes unfold across a large landscape. Many of these tools provide estimates based on satellite-derived data, historical data, and models. The information available in these tools differs in accuracy and spatial scale (state and county levels, with some down to ~30-meter scale). The utility of these tools depends on the management question being asked and on using best practices. These tools can also facilitate timely communication between land managers and permittees.

Rangeland managers usually make within-year or multi-year decisions. Therefore, tools are grouped by these timeframes. Within-year tools can inform springtime and growing-season meetings with permittees and also project potential fires as the season progresses. Multi-year tools provide information that can support allotment management plans and climate adaptation plans.

Disclaimer: These links were working at the time of this publication, March 2023. These tools undergo maintenance most typically at the end of the grazing season. If the website is down, please check back again soon.

Within-Year Tools

Multi-year Tools