March 17-19, 2020, Boise State University.  The Biennial Great Basin Consortium Meeting and the Society for Ecological Restoration Great Basin Chapter Meeting will be held in together in Boise, ID. Early register for free by January 31st!

Participating Organizations:

About | Agenda | Registration |Venue | Contact

About:The Great Basin Consortium is pleased to announce its 4th annual conference on February 17-19, 2015, at Boise State University.

The Great Basin Consortium is a consortium of partners whose vision is to coordinate and collaborate on science delivery to achieve sustainable and resilient Great Basin ecosystems and human communities. Our mission is to increase communication and coordination among the partner organizations in order to enhance the effectiveness of their research, management, outreach and funding activities.

What is new for this years meeting:

All sessions will be held in one cluster of rooms to ensure that all components of the meeting are “front and center”.  The Great Basin Native Plant Program will meet in conjunction with the GBC#4 this year.

Emphasis on poster sessions:  Posters and poster sessions will feature prominently at GBC4: They will be set up Tuesday, Feb. 17 for sessions on Tues and Weds evening (with cash bar), and presenters will be given 1-2 minutes to introduce themselves and their main findings in special “poster ignite” oral sessions before each poster session.  Posters will be hung at and near the entrance to the main auditorium.

Climate program session:  The lead scientists for the 6 climate programs that fund or support climate-related research in the Great Basin will each give a short presentation on practical/administrative aspects of their program and what/how they fund projects climate challenges, opportunities, and priorities of their ecoregion what they are currently doing/producing for application.  They will then hold a panel Q & A session to allow meeting participants to learn more about the challenges/opportunities of climate adaptation across the Great Basin, or questions relating to funding for projects.  The speakers will be available to interact with participants after the session.

Dryland restoration session:  There has been much attention on seeding success following the large wildfires that have been a primary driver in loss of habitat in the Great Basin.  Whether and how to seed warm and dry sites at low elevations in the Great Basin is a major question.  Speakers in this session will reflect on patterns of seeding success, factors that affect seeding success, prospects for increasing success, and tests of technological methods for improving success. 

“Geospatial and you” session:  There are a large number of inventory and assessment projects that span whole ecoregions, the entire Great Basin, or even the whole western US that have either been completed in the last year or are underway for key natural resources.  This session will bring the leaders of many of such efforts together to compare/contrast their efforts and to create a synthesis product that will be a useful “table of contents” for users of geospatial data on the internet.  The format will be short presentations (5 minutes per speaker with timed slides) in which they state what their product is, when/how it is available, how it adds upon previously available info, and the types of research and management questions that can be answered.  The session ends with a panel and open-mic format for audience participation, in which an inventory document is created live, showing what is available and where the gaps lie.  The document is then printed on a large poster and hung on the wall for people to write in omissions, then put on Google for 2 weeks for open commentary, then posted on the GBC website.

Water in the desert session:  Fluctuations and intermittency of water levels with warming and drought is a major issue affecting wildlife in the Great Basin.  This session brings a diverse group of hydrologists, aquatic ecologists, and waterfowl ecologists from both research and management perspectives to address what are the management/conservation problems at local and Great Basin-wide scales regarding water, how well can we predict and understand water provisioning, and what are challenges and opportunities for bringing the disciplines together.

Great Basin Native Plant Program session:  The GBNPP annual meeting consists of technical and overview presentations on projects from their research program, many of these will be of interest to the broader GBC audience.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Click here for the Conference Program (PDF)

Nevada Today Article:Conference held to protect largest U.S. Desert

REGISTRATION


$40 Regular Registration (Register by February 1, 2015)

$60 Late Registration (Beginning February 2, 2015)

Costs cover refreshments and appetizers at the cash bar during poster sessions.

VENUE

This year’s conference will be held in the Student Union Building at Boise State University.

Boise State University Student Union Building
1700 University Drive
Boise, ID 83725

PARKING: A number of car parking spaces will be reserved for attendees of the conference in the Lincoln Avenue Garage, which is located beside the Student Union Building at Belmont St. and Lincoln Ave.

Coupon Code for Parking: 20151285

LODGING

Nearby lodging options listed below. No code is needed to reserve the government rate.

Courtyard Marriott

Residence Inn

Holiday Inn Express Boise-University Area

The Grove Hotel

Hotel 43

CONTACT

For more information, programmatic questions or comments about the conference, please contact:

Matt Germino, [email protected] | (206) 426-3353

If you would like information about the consortium or the partner organizations, please contact:

GB-CESU: Maureen McCarthy, [email protected] | (775) 784-8262

GB-EP: Stan Johnson, [email protected] | (775) 784-1678

GB-LCC: Todd Hopkins, [email protected] | (775) 861-6492

GB-RMP: Nancy Glenn, [email protected] | (208) 426-2933

GB-FSE: Eugénie MontBlanc, [email protected] | ( 775) 784-1107

Guest Partner: Great Basin Native Plant Project (GB-NPP), Francis Kilkenny, [email protected] | (208) 373-4376

About | Presentations | Press

Annual Meeting of the Great Basin Consortium, an informal consortium comprised of the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, the Great Basin Environmental Program, the Great Basin Fire Science Delivery Program, the Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the Great Basin Research and Management Partnership, and the Great Basin Restoration Initiative.

Downloads and Proceedings:

Conference Program [PDF]
List of Participants
Monday, December 9, 2013

Keynote
BLM’S LANDSCAPE APPROACH TAKING THE NEXT STEP BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES [PDF]
Amy Lueders, Nevada State Director, Bureau of Land Management

Session 1: Agency panel for visioning on the sage-grouse issue from different perspectives
• Lauren Mermejo, BLM Great Basin Greater Sage-Grouse Project Manager
• Tim Rubald, State of Nevada Sagebrush Ecosystem Program
• Michael Cameron, Nevada TNC Associate State Director
• Ted Koch, Nevada State Supervisor, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Session 2: Discussion of high priority issues from various agency and organizational perspectives
• William Campbell, Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada
• Bill Dunkelberger, Forest Supervisor, USFWS Humboldt-Toiyabe
• Mark Boggess, USDA-ARS National Program Staff, Pasture, Forage and Rangeland Systems
• Ted Koch, Nevada State Supervisor, US Fish and Wildlife Service
• Michael Cameron, Nevada TNC Associate State Director
• Eric Eldredge, NRCS Great Basin Plant Materials Center Manager, Fallon NV
• Susan Phillips, USGS Research Manager, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis OR

Tuesday, December 10, 2013


Session 3: Joint Fire Science Program Session

THE JOINT FIRE SCIENCE PROGRAM AND THE GREAT BASIN – OVERVIEW AND FUTURE DIRECTION
Tim Swedberg, Communications Director, Joint Fire Science Program

GREAT BASIN FIRE SCIENCE DELIVERY 2013 UPDATE
Génie MontBlanc, University of Nevada, Reno NV

SAGEBRUSH STEPPE TREATMENT EVALUATION PROJECT (SAGESTEP): SUMMARY OF SHORT-TERM RESULTS
James McIver, Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

EFFECTIVENESS OF SAGEBRUSH STEPPE POST-FIRE REHABILITATION PROJECTS: SHORT AND LONG-TERM RESPONSES
David Pyke, U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis OR


Session 4: Climate Change – adaptation strategies

MOVING BEYOND VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS: ARE WE READY TO SCIENTIFICALLY EVALUATE CLIMATE ADAPTATION ACTIONS?
Nicole DeCrappeo, NW Climate Science Center, Science Coordinator

WILDFIRE AND INVASIVE SPECIES IN THE WEST: AN APPROACH TO ADDRESSING THE PRIMARY THREAT TO GREATER SAGE-GROUSE IN THE GREAT BASIN
Kenneth Mayer, WAFWA Wildfire and Invasive Initiative Coordinator

CLIMATE CHANGE VULNERABILITY OF NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE SOUTHWEST: PYRAMID LAKE PAIUTE TRIBE RESILIENCE AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
David Busch, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Region

PRESS

Article: Nevada Today – “Great Basin natural resource issues and research to be discussed by agencies“

Downloads and Proceedings:

Conference Program (PDF)
Conference Summary Notes (PDF)


MONDAY, JANUARY 14

Keynote
REFLECTIONS AFTER 30 YEARS OF TACKLING THE CHEATGRASS/WILDFIRE CYCLE IN THE GREAT BASINMike Pellant, Great Basin Restoration Initiative (GB-RI) Coordinator Bureau of Land Management, Boise, Idaho

Organizational Updates

Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (GB-CESU), Mike Collopy
Great Basin Environmental Program (GB-EP), Stan Johnson
Great Basin Fire Science Delivery Project (GB-FSD), Eugènie MontBlanc
Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GB-LCC), Linda Kelly
Great Basin Research and Management Partnership (GB-RMP), Carol Schuler
Great Basin Research and Management Partnership(GB-RI), Mike Pellant

Current and Emerging Issues

A SAGE-GROUSE’S EYE VIEW OF CURRENT AND FUTURE HABITAT QUALITY – NOT ALL SAGEBRUSH ARE CREATED EQUAL
Jennifer Forbey, Assistant Professor, Boise State University

DUST; AN EMERGING PROBLEM IN THE GREAT BASIN: INSIGHTS FROM 2012
Matt Germino, US Geological Survey

MANAGING FOR RESILIENT ECOSYSTEMS: EXAMINING THE OPTIONS
Jeanne Chambers,Research Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station

BLM’S LANDSCAPE APPROACH FOR MANAGING PUBLIC LANDS
John Wilson, Healthy Lands Coordinator, Bureau of Land Management

A COMPREHENSIVE VISION AND PLAN FOR THE GREAT BASINTodd Hopkins, Science Coordinator, Great Basin-LCC
Linda Kelly, Coordinator, Great Basin-LCC

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15

Project Highlights

RESULTS FROM THE CENTRAL BASIN AND RANGE RAPID ECOREGIONAL ASSESSMENT
Marion Reid, Senior Regional Ecologist, NatureServe

GREAT BASIN NATIVE PLANT SELECTION AND INCREASE PROJECT
Nancy Shaw,Research Botanist, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station

GREAT BASIN NATIVE PLANT SELECTION AND INCREASE PROJECT
David Pilliod, Research Ecologist, USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

BLM INTEGRATED CHEATGRASS DIE-OFF PROJECT
Don Major, Fire and Landscape Ecologist, Bureau of Land Management

Monitoring for Change

EPSCoR OVERVIEW
Nancy Glenn, Research Professor, Idaho State University

WATER, ENERGY AND CO2 FLUX MONITORING IN SAGEBRUSH, INVASIVE CHEATGRASS AND LODGEPOLE PINE SYSTEMS
Rick Allen, Research Professor, University of Idaho

NEVADA INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
Mike Collopy, Assistant Vice President for Research, University of Nevada, Reno

NevCAN: MEASURING CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE IN THE GREAT BASIN
Lynn Fenstermaker, Associate, Research Professor, Desert Research Institute, NV Climate Change Portal, WRCC Snake Range Transect

The Path Forward

THE PATH FORWARD
Todd Hopkins, Science Coordinator, GB-LCC

SAGE GROUSE AND CHEATGRASS IN THE GREAT BASIN
Ted Koch, State Supervisor, Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office

CAN WE IMPROVE RESTORATION SUCCESS IN THE GREAT BASIN?
Elizabeth Leger, Associate Professor, University of Nevada, Reno

NEPA-PHOBIA & THE “TRUST GAP”: IMPEDIMENTS TO RANGELAND RESILIENCE?
Mark Brunson, Professor, Utah State University

Date: 7 November 2011 – 9 November 2011

Downloads: Conference Program

Opening and organizational updates: Conference Opening | GB-CESU | GB-EP | GB-LCC | GB-RI | GB-RMP

Emerging critical issues and new projects

• Understanding, predicting and managing species invasions in a changing environment: the case of annual brome grasses
• Post-fire wind erosion: causes, consequences, and implications
• Managing for resilience in an uncertain world: the role of human-environment linkages

Presentation of project highlights

• Conservation of Lahonton cutthroat trout
• Vulnerability of aspen and associated bird communities to climate change
• Utah/Nevada Partners for Conservation and Development
• Effects of pinyon and juniper expansion on watershed hydrology and vegetation response
• Native Plant Increase Project for Restoring Great Basin Ecosystems
• Great Basin Science Delivery Project

Sagebrush treatment evaluation project for restoring sagebrush ecosystems

• Short-term response to fire and fire surrogate treatments designed to inhibit cheatgrass invasion
• Effectiveness of pinyon and juniper expansion treatments
• Economic viability of sagebrush treatments

Please note: Viewers should contact presenters before making any use of the contents of the PowerPoint presentations