Matt Maples

This document details the ongoing collaborative development of the Nevada Sagebrush Habitat Plan, mandated by an executive order to address critical sagebrush habitat loss. The plan's primary focus areas include conserving and propagating diverse productive wildlife habitats, tackling priority threats such as wildfire, invasive annuals, and conifer encroachment, and ensuring habitat connectivity. The intended outcomes are to foster improved communication, establish common conservation priorities, enable more effective projects, and ultimately enhance rangeland conditions and wildlife populations across Nevada.

This strategic action plan, initiated under Nevada Governor's Executive Order 2021-18 and developed by the Nevada Department of Wildlife, addresses the critical issue of sagebrush habitat degradation and loss across Nevada. It focuses on developing a comprehensive Sagebrush Habitat Plan and a Wildlife Connectivity Plan as core components of the Nevada Habitat Conservation Framework. The plan emphasizes prioritizing conservation actions within identified sagebrush core areas, fostering collaboration among federal, state, county, and tribal entities, and leveraging best available science and tools. Key outcomes include improved communication, common priorities, and the implementation of effective projects to increase restoration efforts and enhance rangeland and wildlife health.

The Sagebrush Habitat Plan, developed by the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) in coordination with the Nevada Sagebrush Ecosystem Program (SEP), addresses the critical issue of sagebrush habitat degradation in Nevada. This plan, a foundational element of the Nevada Habitat Conservation Framework mandated by Executive Order 2021-18, aims to conserve, restore, rehabilitate, and protect sagebrush ecosystems. It will achieve this by fostering collaboration among state and federal agencies, tribes, private landowners, and the public to strategically identify and prioritize landscapes for conservation efforts, thereby supporting the well-being of wildlife and Nevada's rural economies.

The Nevada Wildlife Connectivity Plan aims to enhance and maintain ecological connectivity across the state to ensure the long-term survival and well-being of wildlife populations. It outlines six primary objectives: identifying key wildlife connectivity areas, analyzing their suitability, addressing barriers and impediments to movement, maintaining and increasing habitat connectivity, enhancing public awareness and engagement, and implementing monitoring and adaptive management. The plan serves as a blueprint to safeguard biodiversity, support ecosystem resilience, and mitigate habitat fragmentation, focusing initially on big game species, large carnivores, and special status species.

The Nevada Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan aims to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) within Nevada, limit the spread of existing AIS populations, and minimize the harmful ecological, economic, social, and public health impacts resulting from AIS. The plan focuses on oversight and coordination, prevention, outreach and education, monitoring, early detection and response, long-term control, and laws and regulations.