How can managers walk the line between increasing habitat for some species without reducing habitat for others? Scientists developed a model to address this issue and balance bird habitat in the Great Basin, where species' needs can clash.

Increasing the sagebrush habitat in the Great Basin Ecoregion remains a management concern for the agencies and conservation organizations within this region. Large-scale removal of the pinyon-juniper woodlands is one method for achieving this objective, particularly in the greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) priority areas for conservation (PACs). However, there’s concern that removal of these woodlands will result in a loss of habitat for pinyon-juniper associated bird species to the benefit of sagebrush associated bird species. Katherine Zeller, a research biologist with the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute housed within the Rocky Mountain Research Station, was part of a team of researchers who created a series of species distribution models to determine whether this concern was warranted.