Rangeland conservation and management

Fostering Stewardship: A How-to Guide for Trainers

This curriculum package helps natural-resource professionals train landowners on best practices in resource management. Topics include forests, fire, streams, wildlife, soil, pastures, water systems and economics — all issues facing landowners in many parts of the West.

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Photo Credit: Bob - Adobe Stock (Cropped from original)

Latest content

Sagebrush wildflowers: From bloom to seed

Imperiled sagebrush ecosystems and the wildflowers they harbor support countless wildlife species. This 24"x36" poster illustrates the progression of 31 Great Basin wildflowers from bloom to seed across the growing season.

Stella Copeland, Vanessa Schroeder, Alison Agneray, Sarah Barga, Corey Gucker, Sarah Kulpa, Eugénie MontBlanc | Sep 2024 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Managing Douglas-fir–western hemlock forests of the Coast Range and Western Cascades with fire in mind

This brief provides strategies for increasing fire resilience in these forest types. It emphasizes protecting structures through home hardening, creating defensible spaces, utilizing strategic fuel breaks and fostering ...

Kayla Bordelon, Stephen Fitzgerald, Carrie Berger, Aaron Groth | Aug 2024 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Managing Oregon's West Cascades' high-elevation forests with fire in mind

This brief focuses on strategies for reducing wildfire risk in Oregon's high-elevation Cascade forests, which experience varied fire behaviors due to their unique climate, vegetation, and human activities. It emphasizes ...

John Punches, Carrie Berger | Aug 2024 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

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Videos

Land Management Planning Addresses Ecological Threats

Wildfire and Invasive annual grasses and encroaching juniper can threaten the ecosystem and viability of rangeland-based agricultural operations. OSU Extension created an innovative, online land management planning course to equip ...

Sergio Arispe | Jan 2022 | Video

Sage Grouse Field Research

In the fall of 2017, a reporter and videographer joined a wildlife biologists from Oregon State University and the Bureau of Land Management as they spent an evening in Lake County, Oregon, capturing and tagging sage-grouse for a research project.

Andrew Olsen | Jun 2024 | Video

Digital mapping

Digital mapping tools: Part 1, the basics

Get more out of your smartphone! Free or low-cost digital mapping tools can help you track your path, measure a boundary, calculate area and pinpoint problem areas so you can find them again. You can even map vegetation via satellite imagery.

Norma Kline, Alicia Christiansen | Mar 2021 | Article

Digital mapping tools: Part 2, printing a topographic map

For a big-picture view of the landscape, sometimes nothing beats the power of a paper map. Save yourself a trip to the store and print out just the map you need from any number of free websites.

Norma Kline, Alicia Christiansen | Mar 2021 | Article

Wildfire Defensible Space for the Farm and Ranch

By Jacob Powell

This is a webinar recording from May 2021 covering wildfire defensible space for homes and agricultural operations. Ariel Cowan, OSU Regional Fire Specialist for the Central Region, covers steps homeowners and agricultural producers can take on their structures to create wildfire defensible space. Jacob Powell, General Agricultural Extension Agent, covers additional steps farmers and ranchers can take to expand defensible space across their entire operation.

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Photo Credit: jryanc10 - Adobe Stock (Cropped from original)

Threat management resources

OSU Sagebrush Habitat Team responds to threats to vast ecosystem

Created in 2016, the team works in general themes related to its mission, including: sagebrush ecosystem management, wildlife conservation and management, and related trainings and outreach.

Vanessa Schroeder, Dustin Johnson | Jun 2024 | Impact story

Rangeland faculty help mitigate spread of invasive grasses

Research is incorporated into the Harney County Cooperative Weed Management Area, which will restore 20,000 acres that have been invaded by medusahead in western Harney County.

Dustin Johnson | Aug 2020 | Impact story

Range improvements: Tools and methods to improve cattle distribution

Uneven grazing patterns on rangeland can lead to overuse of forage in some areas and no use or waste in areas not visited by cattle. Range improvements that promote more even grazing can increase pasture carrying capacity and...

David Ganskopp | May 2024 | Article Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Latest news

Dormant-season grazing is a win for all, Extension researcher shows

One of the biggest contributors to wildfires is invasive grasses, otherwise known as “fine fuels.” Extension researcher Sergio Arispe conducted eight years of incredibly successful research with contracted grazing beyond what was ...

Henry Carnell | Oct 28, 2024 | News story

OSU Sagebrush Habitat Team responds to threats to vast ecosystem

Created in 2016, the team works in general themes related to its mission, including: sagebrush ecosystem management, wildlife conservation and management, and related trainings and outreach.

Vanessa Schroeder, Dustin Johnson | Jun 2024 | Impact story

Science of wildfire, provided by OSU Extension, influences art exhibition

The scientists involved were OSU Extension’s Ariel Cowan and Katie Wollstein, who spent several days with the cohort talking about wildfire on Oregon’s high desert rangelands and forests – its ecology, what drives it and the challenges to manage it.

Francesca Lear | Apr 19, 2024 | News story

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Field crops

Pasture and forages

Fire

Forest health and management

Integrated pest management

Water management and conservation

Meet Our Experts

Sergio Arispe

Associate Professor, Livestock and Rangeland

Dustin Johnson

Assistant Professor of Practice

Jacob Powell

Crops & Livestock, Assistant Professor of Practice

Will Price

Assistant Professor of Practice

My Extension and research programs focus on rangeland based livestock production in Baker and Union Counties.

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How to manage tansy ragwort?

Q: We have wheat planted and along our fence line we have an infestation of tansy ragwort. Is it a good time to cut the flowers off, bag them, and leave the plant; or should I spray it? The neighbor across the road has...

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