We evaluated the expected success of habitat recovery in priority areas under 3 different restoration scenarios: passive, planting, and seeding. Passive means no human intervention following a fire disturbance. Under a planting scenario, field technicians methodically plant young sagebrush saplings at the burned site. The seeding scenario involves distributing large amounts of sagebrush seeds throughout the affected area.

We developed a framework that strategically targets burned areas for restoration actions (e.g., seeding or planting sagebrush) that have the greatest potential to positively benefit Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) populations through time. Specifically, we estimated sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) recovery following wildfire and risk of non-native annual grass invasion under three scenarios: passive recovery, active restoration with seeding, and active restoration with seedling transplants. We then applied spatial predictions of integrated nest site selection and survival models before wildfire, immediately following wildfire, and at 30 and 50 years post-wildfire based on each restoration scenario and measured changes in habitat. Application of this framework coupled with strategic planting designs aimed at developing patches of nesting habitat may help increase operational resilience for fire-impacted sagebrush ecosystems.

We developed a framework that strategically targets burned areas for restoration actions (e.g., seeding or planting sagebrush) that have the greatest potential to positively benefit Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) populations through time. Specifically, we estimated sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) recovery following wildfire and risk of non-native annual grass invasion under three scenarios: passive recovery, active restoration with seeding, and active restoration with seedling transplants. We then applied spatial predictions of integrated nest site selection and survival models before wildfire, immediately following wildfire, and at 30 and 50 years post-wildfire based on each restoration scenario and measured changes in habitat. Application of this framework coupled with strategic planting designs aimed at developing patches of nesting habitat may help increase operational resilience for fire-impacted sagebrush ecosystems.

Evaluating factors that affect recovery of canopy-forming, foundational species is needed to guide effective treatment implementation aimed at mitigating their loss due to the changing fire regimes being experienced in semi-arid shrub-steppe of the Western USA. Most inferences on factors influencing recovery are based on one-time measurements taken as a snapshot in time, usually focused on the short-term initial establishment phase or outcomes observed decades after. We measured factors associated with the secondary establishment of big sagebrush in nearly 2000 plots across a heterogeneous landscape five years after a megafire (115,000 ha) and the diverse mosaic of restoration treatments implemented and compare these findings to previously published inferences on initial, first-year germination patterns observed on the same plots.

These data are a habitat restoration index based on the intersection of loss of habitat selected by sage-grouse and loss of habitat contributions to nest survival following wildfire.

These data are a habitat restoration index based on the intersection of loss of habitat selected by sage-grouse and loss of habitat contributions to nest survival following wildfire.

Sage-grouse continue to use habitat following wildfire, so prioritizing high selection, low survival areas can help ameliorate potential post-wildfire ecological traps. This shapefile represents areas within the burn scars at the Virginia Mountains field site which are high selection and high or low survival which have been deemed to be 'priority' targets for post-fire restoration efforts. The 'burn scar' used in this project is an amalgamation of multiple fires which occurred within the field site during the summers of 2016 and 2017.

Sage-grouse continue to use habitat following wildfire, so prioritizing high selection, low survival areas can help ameliorate potential post-wildfire ecological traps. This shapefile represents areas within the burn scars at the Virginia Mountains field site which are high selection and high or low survival which have been deemed to be 'priority' targets for post-fire restoration efforts. The 'burn scar' used in this project is an amalgamation of multiple fires which occurred within the field site during the summers of 2016 and 2017.

We evaluated nest site selection and nest survival both before and after a fire disturbance occurred. We then combined those surfaces to determine the areas which were most heavily impacted by the fire.

We evaluated nest site selection and nest survival both before and after a fire disturbance occurred. We then combined those surfaces to determine the areas which were most heavily impacted by the fire.