Throughout Utah, various natural and man-made factors have significantly altered the distribution and conditions of sagebrush communities.  These communities are now characterized by dense stands of old, decadent shrubs and significant amounts of bare ground, and they no longer adequately support native wildlife species.  Changes to shrubsteppe habitats have also influenced local economies by reducing livestock forage quality and availability.  Due to these environmental and economic issues, shrubsteppe (i.e., rangeland) management in the west is changing rapidly.  Land managers, both private and public, are interested in treating shrubsteppe habitats in order to improve forage production, water quality, and wildlife abundance on pubic and private lands.  The Rich County Coordinated Resource Management Partnership was initiated as a voluntary effort by Rich County to join federal and state agencies, private landowners, and non-governmental orgainizations in supporting sustainable agriculture, improving wildlife habitat and maintaining healthy shrubsteppe and riparian areas. 

The Duck Creek area is a 23,591-acre allotment of federal, state and private lands in northeastern Utah.  Historically, this area had tremendous watershed and wildlife values (including Sage Grouse, Pygmy Rabbits, wintering Mule Deer, and other sagebrush obligate species). The Rich County partnership has embarked on a monumental project to develop an efficient and effective adaptive management and monitoring program for shrubsteppe animals and habitats in Utah.  This partnership will be restoring shrubsteppe habitat on the Duck Creek allotment, assessing species-habitat relationships, and measuring species and habitat responses at various scales.  This is one of the first initiatives in which state and federal agencies are actively involved in private lands conservation.

The partnership includes Bureau of Land Management, Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Utah State University, Quality Resource Management, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Rich County, Intermountain West Joint Venture, and several private landowners, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Audubon Society. 

There is a remarkable degree of cooperation between public and private landholders, and a convergence of private, state and federal interests allowing the partnership to address effects of changing management regimes on a wide diversity of animal species.  A total of 4,272 acres of decadent sagebrush have already been mechanically treated to improve habitat conditions.   Monitoring of sagebrush obligate birds and pygmy rabbits has been initiated and monitoring of other groups (reptiles and other small mammals) will begin in Spring 2006.  Wildlife monitoring will generate basic data on habitat use, productivity, and density over time.  Evaluating monitoring techniques will enable biologists to develop portable and efficient means to monitor shrubsteppe wildlife in other areas of the state.  Future results will include:

1.     Development of wildlife-habitat association models for shrubsteppe species;

2.     Development of portable and efficient means to monitor shrubsteppe wildlife;

3.     Assessment of the effectiveness of satellite imagery in depicting the current vegetation and change in vegetation over time; and

4.     Expansion of vegetation treatments and monitoring beyond the initial 24,000 acres; Rich County has already identified other sites where similar projects could take place.