Grassland reports & data

Grasses of Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (June 2009)

This user-friendly field guide can help people of all skill levels identify 50 native and exotic perennial grasses, plus several annual species. This guide grew out of citizen science involvement tracking grassland health at the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area in southeastern Arizona. Some species illustrated here occur across the West; others are local specialties.

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Historical Range of Variation for Potential Natural Vegetation Types of the Southwest (June 2007)

Descriptions of the Historical Range of Variation or Variability (HRV) characterize the change over time and space in the condition of the Southwest’s major vegetation types and the ecological processes that shape those types. HRVs enable land managers and the public to understand the drivers of change in our region’s major vegetation types.

Report on the Biological Planning Process for Livestock Management at Las Ciénegas (May 2006)

Jointly authored by BLM and TNC, this report summarizes the monitoring information used and decision-making process for the 2005-2006 grazing plan at Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area. The report details how BLM, with input from partners, advisory teams, and the grazing permittee, are using upland monitoring data and pasture reconnaissance to make grazing management decisions.

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State of the Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area, Part I (July 2005)

Summarizes work completed to assist the Bureau of Land Management in the development and implementation of a science-based adaptive management and monitoring program to evaluate progress toward objectives established in BLM’s Resource Management Plan. Includes 1) an analysis of data collected between 1995 and 2004 on the condition and trend of the NCA’s grasslands, 2) a review of monitoring protocols, and 3) an outline of the adaptive management process implemented by BLM in 2004/2005.

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Watershed Improvement Using Prescribed Burns as a Way to Restore Aquatic Habitat for Native Fish (May 2004)

Documents efforts by TNC and BLM to test a model that prescribed burns can be used to improve watershed conditions and aquatic habitat conditions. Study documents pre- and post-treatment results for the response of grasslands and for populations of the threatened Gila chub (Gila intermedia). Paper presented at USFS conference, May 11-15, 2004.

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Grasslands Assessment GIS Data (December 2004)

A GIS data set depicting the results of a two-year study to delineate grasslands and evaluate their ecological condition in Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northern Mexico. This study was completed with the assistance of resource professionals from U.S. and Mexico universities and public agencies.

An Ecological Assessment of the Bureau of Land Management’s Current Fire Management Practices (March 2004)

This study reviews BLM’s fire management plans for Arizona, assessing the accuracy, standardization, and ecological relevance of current Phase I fire management areas. This second report documenting the results of TNC’s Arizona Grassland Assessment also makes recommendations for revisions to BLM’s fire management areas based on fire ecology and other considerations.

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An Assessment of the Spatial Extent and Condition of Grasslands in AZ, NM, and Northern Mexico (January 2003)

This report is the first of two studies completed by TNC and partners to delineate the spatial extent and ecological condition of grasslands in central and southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northern Mexico. This report covers the 30-million acre Apache Highlands Ecoregion.