Conservation Briefs is a compilation of short news stories of interest to Outdoor News Bulletin readers. The stories cover a number of issues that have developed in the past month or provide updates on issues that were featured in previous ONB editions. Each story includes links to online resources for more details on each topic.

This Month:

• DOI Releases Rangeland Fire Task Force Report
• FWS Announces $45 Million for State Wildlife Grants
• NRCS & USFS Announces 2015 Joint Landscape Projects
• Wyoming Researchers Using Social Media to Share Science
• VPA-HIP Funding Available for State Private Land Access Programs

DOI Releases Rangeland Task Force Report

On March 10, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell released the first of two reports documenting actions the department's bureaus and partners can undertake to reduce the threat of rangeland fire in western landscapes. The initial report for Secretarial Order 3336 outlines the specific tasks to be taken before the 2015 fire season to improve sagebrush-steppe landscapes, particularly in the Great Basin region of Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and California.

"Cheatgrass and other invasive species have contributed to making rangeland fire one of the greatest threats in the Great Basin ? not only to sagebrush habitat, but to wildlife, ranching, and other economic activities that depend on a healthy landscape," Secretary Jewell said. "As we head into the 2015 fire season, the actions recommended in this report will help ensure that our preparedness, response and recovery strategies better align with the threats facing the West."

Included in the efforts will be designing and implementing fire response plans, prioritizing resources towards this fire management plan, accelerating rangeland restoration efforts, maximizing seed and plant resources for restoration efforts, and mapping key areas of concern due to landscape conditions. The second report is expected in May and will outline long-term plans for rangeland fire management. The website forestandrangelands.gov has more detailed information about the initiative and projects, and will include the long-term report when completed.

FWS Announces $45 Million for State Wildlife Grants

The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced on March 4 that $45 million has been distributed to the states to support conservation efforts for wildlife and habitat conservation targeted at imperiled species. The funding, through the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) program, targets state efforts to conserve priority species that are identified in State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAP). All 50 states and territorial wildlife agencies have SWAP plans, which provide a blueprint for actions to conserve "species with the greatest conservation need."   

"We appreciate the strong ties formed by state agencies and their partners to protect wildlife species and their habitats," said Hannibal Bolton, the Service's assistant director for Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration. "These partnerships are critical to the on-the-ground success of saving wildlife and job creation."

NRCS & USFS Announces 2015 Joint Landscape Projects

In late February, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie announced that USDA would direct $37 million towards 15 joint restoration projects. The projects are part of a partnership between the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and US Forest Service (USFS) to improve forests where public and private lands meet. This is the second year for the Chiefs' Joint Landscape Restoration Partnership Projects that are intended to mitigate wildfire threats to communities and landowners along the urban wildland interface. In addition, projects will protect water quality and supply as well as improve wildlife habitat for at-risk species in high priority landscapes. The restoration projects include several new projects and others that will build upon the projects that began in 2014.

"By leveraging the technical and financial resources of both agencies, this coordinated effort is helping to restore lands across large landscapes regardless of whether they are on public or private lands," Bonnie said. "Our successes from the 2014 projects demonstrate that these partnerships make a difference on the ground and we are grateful for the cooperation of several partners."

Wyoming Researchers using Social Media to Share Science

Researchers with the US Geological Survey's Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit and Wyoming Game and Fish Department will be using social media to share real-time information as they capture, study and radio collar big game species in the state. Until about March 21, the partners will be live-tweeting and posting on Facebook during their captures of moose, elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep. The research is being coordinated as part of the Wyoming Migration Initiative (WMI) and is intended to study a number of factors impacting big game in the state.

"Many of these studies have been ongoing for several years in remote and hard-to-access areas of Wyoming. They are used to make important decisions about wildlife management," says Game and Fish Communications Director Renny MacKay. "Social media allow us to give the public a new look at this valuable research."

WMI Director, Matt Kauffman, is a professor at the University of Wyoming and a USGS scientist and has been using creative online outreach to share information about the project. In December, the team live-tweeted a mule deer capture and helped develop a National Geographic video documenting research of mule deer migration across northwest Wyoming that got almost 2 million views.

"Capture and GPS-collar efforts are the primary tools researchers use to study these iconic animals and their movements," Kauffman says. "Wyomingites care deeply about these herds and the habitats they occupy, so it's a great opportunity for us to give them, and people beyond Wyoming, a closer view of how and why we are doing this research."

The photos, videos, updates and Twitter feed will be posted to a dedicated WMI webpage, www.migrationinitiative.org/capturelivetweetmarch2015, or follow @wyokauffman, @wgfd, facebook.com/migrationinitiative and using the hashtags #wyoelk, #wyomoose, #wyodeer, #wyosheep.

VPA-HIP Funding Available for State Private Land Access Programs

In late February, the US Department of Agriculture announced that $20 million is being made available to state and tribal governments to improve wildlife habitat and enhance public access to private lands. The funding comes through the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) that was reauthorized in the 2014 Farm Bill. State agencies and tribal governments may apply for grants on projects that can span up to three years with funding levels ranging from $75,000 to $1 million per year. In the first round of funding in 2014 under the new Farm Bill, VPA-HIP grants were awarded to nine states and one tribal nation to open access to approximately 2.5 million acres of private lands.

"USDA is harnessing the power of partnerships with state and tribal governments to ensure that our rural communities are able to sustain important recreational and economic opportunities," said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Enhancing wildlife habitat and providing new opportunities for the public to hunt and fish will create economic activity, and also encourage more Americans to enjoy the outdoors."