Abstract
Sagebrush ecosystems are affected by a variety of factors and loss and degradation of sagebrush habitat threatens many wildlife species. Federal land management and wildlife agencies have invoked the umbrella species concept to protect this ecosystem, designating >580,000 km2 as Habitat Management Areas (HMAs) for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter “sage-grosue”) putatively benefiting multiple wildlife species. The pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) also is a species of conservation concern due to its obligate relationship with the sagebrush ecosystem, and our goal was to evaluate the degree to which grouse-focused HMAs and distribution might serve as a conservation umbrella for pygmy rabbit habitat. We used the program Maxent to build models of varying complexity at two scales, the geographic range of pygmy rabbits, and a regional scale in east-central Idaho. Our results suggest that PHMAs encompass 59% and GHMAs encompass of 34% of primary habitat for pygmy rabbits. The SDM of habitat for pygmy rabbits can be used by land managers and biologists to prioritize survey locations for pygmy rabbits and to identify areas for habitat management, conservation, or restoration.