It may not be as iconic as the Rocky Mountains or as lush as the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest, but the sagebrush steppe might be the most American environment of all. Located in the U.S. Intermountain West—the arid, scraggly setting for mythic cowboys and pioneers—this mix of shrub and grassland is the most widespread type of ecosystem in the United States.
It is also an ecosystem under threat from wildfires, invasive plant species, and human pressures. The Oregon Malheur Wildlife Refuge that was occupied by armed militants last winter included areas of sagebrush steppe, and that occupation could be viewed as an extension of the decades-old “Sagebrush Rebellion” over grazing rights on federal lands. The very nature of sagebrush steppe makes it harder to protect than, say, a stand of old redwoods—you’re unlikely to find many Cascadia Forest Defender tree-sitters perched in a thicket of sagebrush.
Instead, you might find diligent scientists like Janet Rachlow, a mammalian ecologist with the University of Idaho, and Lisa Shipley, a foraging ecologist with Washington State University. In the video above from the National Science Foundation, the pair use radio collars and drones to study the pygmy rabbit in the Lemhi Valley, a high-desert valley in eastern Idaho. Well adapted to the sagebrush steppe ecosystem, the pygmy rabbit is one of the few creatures that can eat the toxin-rich sagebrush as a major part of its diet. By studying this desert creature, scientists hope to better understand the local environment in a way that could guide decisions to protect it. There may be certain types of sagebrush that are more nutritious than others, for instance, which would make them better used in restoration projects after fires or other disturbances.
Also, it’s fun to watch scientists chasing rabbits in the desert.
