United States Department of Agriculture Big Sagebrush: A Sea Forest Service Rocky Mountain Fragmented into Lakes, Research Station General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-144 Ponds, and Puddles March 2005 Bruce L. Welch Distribution of big sagebrush in the State of Distribution of big sagebrush in the State of Washington before settlement. Washington after settlement Abstract ______________________________________ Welch, Bruce L. 2005. Big sagebrush: A sea fragmented into lakes, ponds, and puddles. Gen. Tech Rep. RMRS-GTR-144. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 210 p. Pioneers traveling along the Oregon Trail from western Nebraska, through Wyoming and southern Idaho and into eastern Oregon, referred to their travel as an 800 mile journey through a sea of sagebrush, mainly big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Today approximately 50 percent of the sagebrush sea has given way to agriculture, cities and towns, and other human developments. What remains is further fragmented by range management practices, creep- ing expansion of woodlands, alien weed species, and the historic view that big sagebrush is a worthless plant. Two ideas are promoted in this report: (1) big sagebrush is a nursing mother to a host of organisms that range from microscopic fungi to large mammals, and (2) many range management practices applied to big sagebrush ecosystems are not science based. Keywords: Artemisia tridentata, distribution, canopy cover relationships, fire interval, nutritive value The Author ____________________________________ Bruce L. Welch is a plant physiologist with the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Provo, UT. He earned a B.S. degree from Utah State University in 1965 and an M.S. in 1969 and Ph.D. in 1974 from the University of Idaho. He has been a Forest Service scientist since 1977. The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of any product or service Pesticide Precautionary Statement This publication reports research involving pesticides. It does not contain recommendations for their use, nor does it imply that the uses discussed here have been registered. All uses of pesticides must be registered by appropriate State and/or Federal agencies before they can be recommended. CAUTION: Pesticides can be injurious to humans, domestic animals, desirable plants, and fish or other wildlife—if they are not handled or applied properly. Use all pesticides selectively and carefully. Follow recommended practices for the disposal of surplus pesticides and pesticide containers. CAUTION: PESTICIDES Big Sagebrush: A Sea Fragmented into Lakes, Ponds, and Puddles Bruce L. Welch Preface ________________________ After studying the big sagebrush ecosystem for 30 years, I have come to three conclusions: Ode to Sagebrush 1. Much misinformation concerning the value and What an amazing plant; the sage, so many faces has it. ecology of big sagebrush exists in the land management The most versatile of our shrubs. High value must be placed upon it. community. So many creatures large and small get winter food source from it. 2. The perceived shortcomings of big sagebrush are a The pungent leaves forever fresh when others are dormant beside it. result of livestock grazing. Break the wind and catch the snow, the ground is safe around it. 3. Big sagebrush is a nursing mother to a host of What a conservationist this plant! Why don’t more people know it? organisms ranging from microscopic to large mammals. Caretaker of the soil, protecting dormant seeds beneath it. I hope that those who read this general technical report So the desert can once more bloom when conditions are right for it. will come to the conclusion that big sagebrush is a valuable And summer too receives a share of favors coming through it. plant species worth preserving. I am, Bruce L. Welch. The shade, the cover, and nests that birds have built within it. Insect galls on the limbs and burrows dug below it. What a vast variety of life, find home and solace in it. Acknowledgments ______________ Paintbrush, so beautiful and fine, could not survive without it. Pushing down roots to attached below, nourishment coming of it. I wish to thank those who provided peer reviews for In fall it blooms and beauty gives to all the land about it. various chapters of this publication. They were: three anony- The autumn days delight the air. Smell the aromas that cause it! mous reviewers (entire manuscript), Mr. Sherel Goodrich How often I have heard the phrase: “It’s just sagebrush, (entire manuscript), Mr. Stanley G. Kitchen; Drs. John W. let’s remove it.” Connelly, Larry S. Jeffery, Rudy King, E. Durant McArthur So naive these people are to fasten that opinion to it. (entire manuscript), Susan E. Meyer, David L. Nelson, I once thought of sage as drab before I really knew it. Thomas M. Quigley (entire manuscript), Michael F. Whiting, Now I view it in another light, and attach much beauty to it. Joel G. Peterson, Gerald Rehfeldt, Nancy L. Shaw, Carl L. Wambolt, and Darrell J. Weber. Their contributions were Dave Hanks, Biology Teacher—Burley High School, Idaho; reprinted invaluable and gratefully received. I received great quan- from the Idaho Wildlife, March/April 1985, page 16 tities of encouragement from the following: Mr. Craig Criddle, Mr. Robert L. Elderkin, Dr. Jordon C. Pederson, The above poem by a Burley High School biology Dr. Fred J. Wagstaff, and Mrs. Susan A. Welch. I give to teacher shows an incredible amount of insight into the them my deepest thanks. And to Dr. E. Durant McArthur, ecology and value of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Dr. Janine Powell, and Dr. Jack Wade, who have This general technical report supports the ecological earned my deepest respect for their courageous sup- principles and value of big sagebrush as expressed in the port of this work, my many thanks. poem. Over 1,600 scientific and nonscientific articles concerning big sagebrush have been reviewed; many are cited within these pages. Dedication _____________________ The subject matter covered in this general technical report can be obtained by scanning the table of contents Whatever honor there may be in this publication, I wish and need not be repeated here. to dedicate it to the following: Drs. Alan A. Beetle, Rexford F. Daubenmire, Howard R. Leach, and Arthur D. Smith— all pioneers in big sagebrush research. You may order additional copies of this publication by sending your mailing information in label form through one of the following media. Please specify the publication title and number. Telephone (970) 498-1392 FAX (970) 498-1396 E-mail [email protected] Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/rm Mailing Address Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 240 West Prospect Road Fort Collins, CO 80526 Contents Page Chapter I: Getting acquainted with big sagebrush. .............................................. 1 Distribution .......................................................................................................1 Climate .......................................................................................................1 Woodrat middens .......................................................................................2 Pollen spectrum from lakes, bogs, and peats ............................................4 Historic accounts of big sagebrush ............................................................5 Modern distribution .....................................................................................8 Has big sagebrush invaded grasslands? ................................................. 12 Relationship between grazing and big sagebrush canopy cover................... 12 How much of the big sagebrush ecosystem is left?....................................... 15 Life expectancy ..............................................................................................15 Morphology and anatomy ..............................................................................16 Inflorescence versus vegetative branches ...............................................16 Floral development ...................................................................................17 Embryo, seed development, and anatomy ...............................................17 Leaf anatomy and development ...............................................................17 Stem anatomy and development ..............................................................18 Root morphology ......................................................................................19 Soils of big sagebrush ...................................................................................20 Big sagebrush taxonomy and origin ..............................................................25 References ....................................................................................................27 Chapter II: Birds, mammals, and reptiles associated with big sagebrush .......... 47 Birds ............................................................................................................47 Obligate bird species ................................................................................47 Sage grouse ........................................................................................47 Sage thrasher, Brewer’s sparrow, sage sparrow ................................ 53 Facultative birds species ..........................................................................54