In recent decades, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) populations have declined in many areas primarily due to habitat loss. This loss can be attributed in part to the expansion of juniper (Juniperus occidentalis Hook.) into sagebrush (Artemisia spp. L.) and aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) plant communities, reducing shrub and understory vegetation, respectively. This diminishes forage availability which negatively impacts mule deer as malnutrition is a leading cause of adult mortality. Research has evaluated how mule deer respond to juniper expansion in sagebrush communities, but few studies have examined their response to expansion into aspen communities. Previous studies also demonstrated that, in addition to changes in vegetation cover, mule deer populations can be impacted by interactions with other ungulates and human development. We evaluated the relative importance of these factors and juniper for influencing mule deer occupancy in the Steens Mountain area of southeast Oregon, by analyzing data collected from game cameras deployed June–August 2020–2022 in a single-season occupancy model. We expected early to mid-successional juniper woodlands and areas with more aspen vegetation to have higher occupancy rates compared to late-successional or treeless sites. We predicted higher occupancy in areas with more understory vegetation, reduced elk, cattle, and horse presence, and farther from roads. We found that mule deer occupancy was highest in areas with intermediate (∼15–30%) overall tree cover. We also found that greater herbaceous cover (perennial and annual) and shrub cover (sagebrush and non-sagebrush) was associated with higher occupancy rates. Additionally, mule deer occupancy was higher in areas with less elk presence and more cattle presence. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining intermediate tree cover and abundant understory vegetation to support mule deer populations. Managers can use these insights to prioritize and balance juniper treatments that benefit mule deer as well as other sagebrush-obligate species.

Introduction Restoration outcomes in cold desert ecosystems like sagebrush steppe are affected by weather variability, particularly during the spring, a critical time period for seedling establishment. Seedling emergence phenology is also highly variable among species in these ecosystems. Seed-based restoration outcomes are likely affected by the emergence timing of species in seed mixes relative to periods of favorable soil microclimate in the spring.Objectives This study evaluated the effects of higher spring temperatures in different periods, and species differences in seedling emergence and survival, on restoration outcomes. We also tested the indirect effects of warming treatments on outcomes via abundance of cheatgrass, a competitive, widespread invasive annual sensitive to weather variability.Methods We used open-sided chambers to implement early- or late-spring warming on plots seeded with a diverse set of species that differed in timing of emergence, across multiple years and variable weather conditions in sagebrush steppe, Oregon, U.S.A.Results Spring warming treatment effects varied with yearly weather and species emergence timing relative to the rest of the seeded species. Later-emergence timing was associated with lower emergence rates, particularly with late spring warming, and lower survival with early spring warming, but higher survival without warming or with late spring warming. Seed mix scenarios tuned to warming treatment and yearly weather outperformed early- or late-emergence timing and even proportion mixes. Early spring warming increased invasive annual grass abundance, which was associated with lower survival of seeded species.Conclusions Species differences and yearly precipitation affected restoration outcomes under warmer spring temperatures.

Information on the effects of long-term cattle grazing at different intensities on herbage production following fire in the sagebrush steppe is lacking. We measured herbaceous biomass response to cattle grazing spanning 18 yr (2007-2024) on burned Wyoming big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young) steppe in eastern Oregon. Treatments were applied in a randomized complete block design, including no grazing on burned (nonuse) and unburned (control) sagebrush steppe; and cattle grazing at low (low), moderate (moderate), and high (high) stocking. All grazed treatments were by deferred rotation. Deferred rotation consisted of grazing during the active growing season (midMay-early June) once every 3 yr followed by 2 yr of grazing during summer herbaceous dormancy (July, August, or September). Herbage was sorted by herbaceous functional group, which included an early season bunchgrass (Sandberg bluegrass [ Poa secunda J. Presl]), tall perennial bunchgrasses, perennial forbs, cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum L.), and annual forbs. Both standing crop and annual net primary production (ANPP, current year's growth) of functional groups were evaluated by repeated measures analysis. Standing crop decreased as grazing intensity increased but recovered with 1 or 2 yr of grazing rest. Herbaceous functional group ANPP did not differ among the burned treatments (grazed and nonuse), and total and perennial bunchgrass production were all greater than the control. Grazing intensity in the deferred rotation program did not affect long-term ANPP. Annual weather events account for ANPP variability measured for the various grazed and ungrazed treatments. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Reduced fire frequency is recognized as a main cause of pi & ntilde;on-juniper ( Pinus-Juniperus L.) expansion in western North American sagebrush steppe and grasslands. Pi & ntilde;on-juniper woodland control using prescribed fire and mechanical treatments have increased the past three decades with the goal of restoring sagebrush steppe plant communities. Factors shaping the response of sagebrush steppe communities following woodland treatment include shrub and herbaceous composition, level of tree dominance, and site characteristics. We compared vegetation recovery spanning 20 yr following prescribed fire on midsuccession and late-succession western juniper ( Juniperus occidentalis Hook.) woodlands on Steens Mountain, Oregon. Our objective was to evaluate vegetation dynamics between early (first decade) and later successional (second decade) time periods after fire. The first decade after fire vegetation on burned mid-succession sites were codominated by native herbaceous perennials and sprouting shrub species and on late-succession sites vegetation was codominated by nonnative cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum L.) and snowbrush ( Ceanothus velutinus Dougl.). During the second decade after fire, vegetation composition converged and both mid-succession and late-succession sites were codominated by herbaceous perennials, mountain big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata spp. vaseyana [Rydb.] Beetle), round-leaf snowberry ( Symphoricarpos rotundifolius A. Gray) and snowbrush. Herbaceous and shrub vegetation composition of both burned woodland phases proved to be highly resilient to fire, the difference was that native shrubherbaceous recovery on late-succession sites required about twice as much time as mid-succession sites. The resilience of both mid-succession and late-succession woodland sites was likely a product of ecological site characteristics (e.g., elevation and precipitation zone) that affords a competitive advantage for native perennial species over invasive annuals. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Describing relationships among weather variables and herbage yield is important for planning livestock grazing, assessing wildlife habitat, and evaluating short- and long-term vegetation dynamics. We investigated the effects of weather on herbage yields from 44 Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young) steppe sites across eastern Oregon from 2003 to 2012. We used linear and multiple linear regression to relate herbaceous total and functional group yields to monthly and seasonal precipitation, reference evapotranspiration (RET), and temperature. Functional groups were large perennial bunchgrasses, Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda J. Presl.), perennial forbs, annual forbs, and annual grasses. Yields and weather variables were normalized prior to regression analysis to account for differences in site characteristics. Normalized variables were obtained by dividing yield and weather variables by their 10-year means. Fall-through-spring (e.g., October-May, September-May) and spring precipitation and RET all contributed to significant predictive models for both functional groups and total herbage. Spring precipitation provided the strongest predictor of perennial bunchgrasses (March-May and June; R-2 = 0.91), perennial forbs (May; R-2 = 0.79), annual grasses (March; R-2 = 0.79), and total herbage (March-May; R-2 = 0.83) yields. Yields of Sandberg bluegrass and annual forbs were most strongly associated with RET for October-May (R-2 = 0.86) and October-April (R-2 = 0.79), respectively. Overall, we found a greater influence of late-winter and spring precipitation than that of models developed several decades ago where crop-year (September-June) precipitation provided more accurate herbage biomass estimates.

climate variability impacts forage yield in semiarid rangelands, but it also affects the timing of peak yields. Knowledge of peak standing crop or yield dates would be useful when planning fieldwork for various research or management activities and for developing more accurate models linking herbage production to climatic variables. In this study, herbaceous yield was measured every 2 weeks (April-August) over an 8-year period in a Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) community in southeastern Oregon. Date of peak yield (Julian day) was calcu-lated for morphological groups (tall perennial bunchgrasses, perennial forbs, annual forbs), Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda J. Pressl), and total herbaceous yield. Linear and multiple regression analyses were used to correlate date of peak yield of herbaceous morphological groups with spring precipitation, reference evapotranspiration (RET), and air tem-perature. Peak yield dates for the herbaceous response variables were strongly correlated to annual climatic variation, commonly a combination of early growing season precipitation (March to 16 May) and March through May RET. Depend-ing on morphological group, peak yield date varied by 3 to 7 weeks during the growing season. The best regression coefficients for peak yield date of perennial bunchgrasses, perennial forbs, Sandberg bluegrass, annual forbs, and total herbaceous vegetation alone or with various combinations of precipitation, temperature, and RET were 0.97, 0.82, 0.86, 0.90, and 0.98, respectively. For planning fieldwork, estimates of peak yield date can be used to accurately sample for yields of herbaceous morphological groups and community production potentials.

Abstract There is limited knowledge of grazing impacts on longer term plant community dynamics following fire in sagebrush steppe. This study evaluated vegetation response to different intensities of deferred rotation cattle grazing over 16 years (2007–2022) on burned Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis (Beetle & Young) Welsh) steppe in eastern Oregon. Treatments were applied in a randomized complete block, which included no grazing on burned (nonuse, n = 5) and unburned (control, n = 5) steppe; and cattle grazing at low (low, n = 4), moderate (moderate, n = 4), and high (high, n = 4) intensities on burned steppe. Vegetation dynamics were evaluated by repeated measures analysis of canopy cover and density of shrub and herbaceous species and functional groups. Herbaceous functional groups were an early‐season bunchgrass (one species, Sandberg bluegrass [Poa secunda J. Presl]), tall perennial bunchgrasses, perennial forbs, annual grass (one species, cheatgrass [Bromus tectorum L.]), and annual forbs. Tall perennial bunchgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, and perennial forb cover and density did not differ among the treatments but did decrease over time in all treatments. The cover of several tall bunchgrass species was generally less in the high treatment, mainly, Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis Elmer) and Thurber's needlegrass (Achnatherum thurberianum (Piper) Barkworth). The cover of cheatgrass and annual forbs varied among years but was greater in the burned‐grazed and nonuse treatments than in the control. Native plant cover in the burned treatments (grazed and nonuse) represented 77%–85% of total herbaceous cover versus the control where native plants comprised 91% of the total. Annual weather variability appears to account for most of the compositional dynamics measured in the various grazed and ungrazed treatments.

AimsLivestock production is the most widespread land use globally and occurs across a diverse set of ecosystems. Variability in long-term livestock grazing impacts across ecosystems is poorly characterized, particularly at larger spatial scales, despite strong relationships with various ecosystem services related to soil fertility and stabilization and vegetation productivity. Here we examine the effects of grazing on vegetation and the implications for resistance and resilience to global change. MethodsWe use six long-term research stations in the western United States, spanning two ecoregions, multiple ecosystems, and 311 total site-years of research. Across these sites we evaluate convergence and divergence of vegetation response to grazing vs grazing removal, focusing on interactions with drivers of global change. ResultsWe found that at long time scales (multiple decades), grazing has numerous convergent and divergent effects across ecoregions and ecosystems. Similarity among precipitation patterns and plant traits linked to grazing and production timing were key elements explaining convergence or divergence in long-term patterns of livestock grazing response. Ecosystem differences across western US rangelands are also associated with variable effects of grazing on resistance and resilience to invasive species and climate change. ConclusionsThese results suggest that unique ecosystem or ecoregion responses to future global change may result from complex interactions between grazing and environmental factors, such as precipitation timing and plant traits. Adapting livestock and grazing management to specific ecosystem vegetation and climate variability is needed to manage for the myriad global changes affecting rangeland production and diversity.

We evaluated plant community succession following prescribed fire on Artemisia arbuscula var. arbus-cula (Nutt.) McMinn (low sagebrush) steppe in southeastern Oregon. Treatments were "prescribed burned " (burn; fall 2012) and "unburned " (control) A. arbuscula steppe, and the study design was a randomized complete block with 4 repli-cates per treatment. Herbaceous yield and vegetation canopy cover and density were compared between treatments (2012-2020). Fire practically eliminated A. arbuscula and there was no recruitment of new plants in the first 8 years after burning. Herbaceous yield in the burn treatment was about double the control for most of the postfire period. Native perennial grasses and forbs constituted 94% to 96% and Bromus tectorum L. (cheatgrass) 0.2% to 2% of total herbaceous yield in the control. In the burn treatment, perennial grasses and forbs constituted 83% to 87%, native annual forbs 2% to 5%, and B. tectorum 3% to 9% of total herbaceous yield. Despite an increase in B. tectorum, the burned A. arbuscula sites were dominated by herbaceous perennial grasses and forbs and exhibited high levels of resilience and resistance. After prescribed fire, for the study sites and comparable A. arbuscula associations, weed control or seeding are not necessary to recover the native herbaceous community. However, the results in our study are for low-severity prescribed fire in intact A. arbuscula plant communities. Higher-severity fire, as might occur with wildfire, and in A. arbuscula communities having greater prefire invasive weed composition should not be assumed to develop similarly high levels of community resilience and resistance.

High interannual variability in production occurs in many semiarid rangelands, including the perennial-dominated sagebrush steppe, in response to variable weather conditions. Describing the effects of weather on the dynamics of sagebrush steppe has implications for a broad set of management objectives including forage and wildlife habitat. Here, we investigated the effects of seasonal weather and plant associations, related to abiotic characteristics, on herbaceous production dynamics across 44 intact, representative sagebrush steppe sites across eastern Oregon from 2003 to 2012. We tested for the effects of sampling year, lagged precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration predictors, as well as prior year biomass and plant association on production of major herbaceous functional groups. We also tested for synchrony across functional groups and plant associations. We found that spring precipitation was the most consistent predictor of production. However, several other variables including prior year weather significantly affected production. Production sensitivity to weather was combined with high synchrony across functional groups and associations, suggesting low potential for production stability associated with these factors in sagebrush steppe in the northern Great Basin.

Wildfire activity is accelerating on many rangelands worldwide, yet the potential for grazing to be used as a fire management tool remains largely unknown. Particularly, little is known about the influence of grazing on ignition and initial spread of fire, as well as how these vary by differences in grazing management. We investigated effects of grazing intensity (light, moderate, high) on fuel characteristics, fire ignition, and initial spread during the wildfire season in a native-dominated shrub steppe in eastern Oregon. We found that differences in grazing intensity have differential effects on fuel profiles (cover, height, moisture, biomass) with resulting impacts on fire behavior, but these relationships varied across study years. In particular, grazing had a stronger effect on ignition probability in drier years. Fire behavior in lightly grazed plots were similar to ungrazed plots, while moderate grazing was similar to high-intensity grazing. Results of this study highlight that grazing can be useful as a tool for wildfire management, and grazing at moderate and high intensities can reduce the probability of fire propagation in native-dominated sagebrush ecosystems. Further, the effects of grazing are context dependent and therefore may depend on specific objectives and environmental conditions.

Abstract Understanding the effects of contemporary cattle grazing on herbaceous perennial communities in big sagebrush steppe is important for managing for wildlife habitat, plant diversity, and productivity, yet potentially complicated by legacy impacts of historic, often higher intensity, livestock grazing. Here, we evaluate whether recovery of herbaceous communities in eastern Oregon, USA, after the cessation of intense spring sheep grazing (1935) was affected by moderate cattle grazing in paired plots with or without grazing over the past 75 yr (1936–2011). We tested for the effects of cattle grazing on herbaceous community recovery, as indicated by changes over time in plant density, and composition, as measured by Bray–Curtis dissimilarity. We also included current and prior to sampling year precipitation anomalies, to account for the weather effects, and a random term for pasture location of plot pairs to include potential subtle differences in abiotic environment and grazing management. We further tested whether time since cessation of intense sheep grazing and moderate cattle grazing were associated with convergence or divergence in community composition indicated by changes in evenness, richness, species relative abundance (rank order), and turnover or species appearance or disappearance. Total perennial herbaceous, forb, and grass density increased over time in sites grazed and ungrazed by cattle, though species varied in the direction of their response to contemporary cattle grazing. Community composition metrics indicated convergence over time including increasing evenness, decreasing Bray–Curtis dissimilarity, decreasing shifts in species relative abundance (rank order), and lower rates of species turnover (and gain and loss). Contemporary cattle grazing was not associated with convergence or divergence in composition. Precipitation anomalies for the current or prior water year were only occasionally significant in herbaceous density and community composition change models. Our results indicate similar long‐term recovery trajectories occurred in sites with moderate cattle grazing or removal of all livestock following cessation of intense sheep grazing. Management planning and resource assessment focused on herbaceous perennial communities in sagebrush steppe should seek to separate the impacts of historic from contemporary livestock grazing practices.

We assessed plant community succession following prescribed fire on ungrazed Wyoming big sagebrush steppe, eastern Oregon. Treatments were burned (Burn; September and October, 2002) and unburned (Control) sagebrush steppe. Herbaceous yield, vegetation canopy cover and density were compared between treatments after fire (2003–18). Herbaceous yield in the Burn treatment was about double the Control for most of the study period. Prior to fire, native perennials comprised 90–95% of herbaceous yield. After fire, native perennials represented 78% (range 67–93%) and exotic annuals 22% (range 7–33%) of total yield. Exotic annuals increased after fire and responded in two stages. In the first 8 years after fire, desert alyssum dominated the annual plant composition. In the last half of the study, cheatgrass co-dominated the annual component with alyssum. Sagebrush recovery was slow and we estimated sagebrush cover would return to pre-burn levels, at the earliest, in 115 years. Burning Wyoming big sagebrush steppe would be detrimental to sagebrush-obligate wildlife for an extended time period, because of lost cover and structure provided by sagebrush. The additional forage provided on burned areas may give livestock manager’s greater flexibility to rest or defer unburned habitat for wildlife species of critical concern.

Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis Hook.) has expanded into sagebrush steppe plant communities the past 130−150 yr in the northern Great Basin. The increase in juniper reduces herbage and browse for livestock and big game. Information on herbaceous yield response to juniper control with fire is limited. We measured herbaceous standing crop and yield by life form in two mountain big sagebrush communities (MTN1, MTN2) and a Wyoming/basin big sagebrush (WYOBAS) community for 6 yrs following prescribed fire treatments to control western juniper. MTN1 and WYOBAS communities were early-successional (phase 1) and MTN2 communities were midsuccessional (phase 2) woodlands before treatment. Prescribed fires killed all juniper and sagebrush in the burn units. Total herbaceous and perennial bunchgrass yields increased 2 to 2.5-fold in burn treatments compared with unburned controls. Total perennial forb yield did not differ between burns and controls in all three plant communities. However, tall perennial forb yield was 1.6- and 2.5-fold greater in the WYOBAS and MTN2 burned sites than controls. Mat-forming perennial forb yields declined by 80−90% after burning compared with controls. Cheatgrass yield increased in burned WYOBAS and MTN2 communities and at the end of the study represented 10% and 22% of total yield, respectively. Annual forbs increased with burning and were mainly composed of native species in MTN1 and MTN2 communities and non-natives in WYOBAS communities. Forage availability for livestock and wild ungulates more than doubled after burning. The additional forage provided on burned areas affords managers greater flexibility to rest and treat additional sagebrush steppe where juniper is expanding, as well as rest or defer critical seasonal habitat for wildlife.

The Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis [Beetle & A. Young] S.L. Welsh) alliance is the most extensive of the big sagebrush complex in the Intermountain West. There is a lack of information describing vegetation characteristics, diversity, and heterogeneity of the Wyoming big sagebrush alliance. We annually sampled 48 Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities over 10 yr to delineate major vegetation associations and describe their major vegetation characteristics including canopy cover, density, species richness, and yield. Six associations were identified on the basis of dominant or codominant perennial bunchgrass species, using MRPP analysis, and they included ARTRW8 (Wyoming big sagebrush)/PSSP6 (Pseudoroegneria spicata [Pursh] A. Löve, bluebunch wheatgrass), ARTRW8/ACTH7 (Achnatherum thurberianum [Piper] Barkworth, Thurber’s needlegrass), ARTRW8/FEID (Festuca idahoensis Elmer, Idaho fescue), ARTRW8/HECO26 (Hesperostipa comata [Trin. & Rupr.] Barkworth, needle-and-thread), ARTRW8/PSSP6-ACTH7, and ARTRW8/PSSP6-FEID-ACTH7. On average, PSSP6 and FEID associations had the highest total herbaceous cover and annual yields and the HECO26 and ACTH7 associations had the lowest. Perennial forb cover averaged over 5% in PSSP6 and FEID associations and ranged from 0.3% to 3.5% in the other associations. Sagebrush cover was greatest in ACTH7 and PSSP6-ACTH7 and lowest in FEID and HECO26 associations. Habitat suitability criteria for sage-grouse indicated that Wyoming big sagebrush associations at the stand/site level will generally not meet breeding habitat requirements and only attain suitable habitat requirements for other life stages about 50% of the time.

Significance Accurate prediction of community responses to global change drivers (GCDs) is critical given the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem services. There is consensus that human activities are driving species extinctions at the global scale, but debate remains over whether GCDs are systematically altering local communities worldwide. Across 105 experiments that included over 400 experimental manipulations, we found evidence for a lagged response of herbaceous plant communities to GCDs caused by shifts in the identities and relative abundances of species, often without a corresponding difference in species richness. These results provide evidence that community responses are pervasive across a wide variety of GCDs on long-term temporal scales and that these responses increase in strength when multiple GCDs are simultaneously imposed.

Piiion-juniper woodlands of the western United States have expanded 2 to 10-fold since the late 1800's. Tree control measures using chainsaws, heavy equipment and prescribed fire have been used to reduce woodlands and restore big sagebrush steppe and decrease woody fuel loading. We evaluated nutrient availability and herbaceous recovery following various cutting and prescribed fire treatments in late succession western juniper woodlands on two sites in southeast Oregon from 2007 to 2012. Sites were a cool, wet big sagebrush-Idaho fescue association (FESCUE), highly resistant to exotic annual grasses and a warm dry big sagebrush-bluebunch wheatgrass association (BLUEBUNCH), moderately resistant to annual grass invasion. Treatments were untreated controls, partial cutting followed by fall broadcast burning (SEP), cut and leave (CUT), and cut and burn in winter (JAN) and spring (APR). Soil inorganic N (NO3-, NH4+), phosphorus (H2PO4-), potassium (K+), and cover of herbaceous species were measured in three zones; interspace, litter mats around the tree canopy (canopy), and beneath felled trees (debris). Following woodland cutting, the results of the various slash treatments measured significant differences through time in the availability of inorganic N, P, and K and vegetation composition. Peak nutrient availability tended to occur within the first two years after treatment. The increases in N, P, and IC were greatest in severely burned debris and canopy zones of the SEP and APR treatments. Invasive annual grass cover was positively correlated to soil inorganic N concentrations. Herbaceous composition at the FESCUE site was generally resistant to annual grasses after juniper treatments and native plants dominating post-treatment even in highly impacted debris and canopy zones of the SEP treatment. The BLUEBUNCH site was less resistance and resilient, thus, exotic annual grasses were a major component of the understory especially when tree and slash burning was of high fire severity. To lessen these impacts requires slash burning be applied from late fall to early spring, when fuel moisture and relative humidity are higher, to maintain an adequate perennial herbaceous composition for recovery. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Juniper and piñon coniferous woodlands have increased 2- to 10-fold in nine ecoregions spanning the Intermountain Region of the western United States. Control of piñon-juniper woodlands by mechanical treatments and prescribed fire are commonly applied to recover sagebrush steppe rangelands. Recently, the Sage Grouse Initiative has made conifer removal a major part of its program to reestablish sagebrush habitat for sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and other species. We analyzed data sets from previous and ongoing studies across the Great Basin characterizing cover response of perennial and annual forbs that are consumed by sage grouse to mechanical, prescribed fire, and low-disturbance fuel reduction treatments. There were 11 sites in western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis Hook.) woodlands, 3 sites in singleleaf piñon (Pinus monophylla Torr. & Frém.) and Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma [Torr.] Little), 2 sites in Utah juniper, and 2 sites in Utah juniper and Colorado piñon (Pinus edulis Engelm). Western juniper sites were located in mountain big sagebrush (A. tridentata ssp. vaseyana) steppe associations, and the other woodlands were located in Wyoming big sagebrush (A. tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) associations. Site potential appears to be a major determinant for increasing perennial forbs consumed by sage grouse following conifer control. The cover response of perennial forbs, whether increasing (1.5- to 6-fold) or exhibiting no change, was similar regardless of conifer treatment. Annual forbs favored by sage grouse benefitted most from prescribed fire treatments with smaller increases following mechanical and fuel reduction treatments. Though forb abundance may not consistently be enhanced, mechanical and fuel reduction conifer treatments remain good preventative measures, especially in phase 1 and 2 woodlands, which, at minimum, maintain forbs on the landscape. In addition, these two conifer control measures, in the short term, are superior to prescribed fire for maintaining the essential habitat characteristics of sagebrush steppe for sage grouse.