Sagebrush and Rangeland Ecosystems

The sagebrush ecosystem is one of North America’s most extensive yet most threatened landscapes, covering large portions of the lower 48 states. For mule deer, these areas are essential providing critical winter range, migration corridors, and year-round food and shelter. Far from barren, sagebrush country supports incredible biodiversity. Along with mule deer, more than 300 other species depend on these landscapes for food and cover. Preserving and restoring sagebrush is one of the most important steps we can take to ensure healthy mule deer and wildlife populations.

Two mule deer bucks walking in a grassy landscape.

But sagebrush faces serious challenges. These ecosystems do not readily regenerate after wildfire, and without active restoration, recovery can take decades. Rising temperatures, drought, and invasive grasses like cheatgrass further threaten these habitats, while human development fragments migration corridors and winter range. Each year, estimates are that more than a million acres of sagebrush are lost.

The Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) is tackling this challenge with large-scale, science-based restoration projects. Working across public and private lands, MDF restores sagebrush following wildfires, removes encroaching conifers, and reseeds native vegetation to strengthen habitat. The future of mule deer is inseparable from the future of sagebrush. Protecting and restoring these vast landscapes is essential to keeping deer herds and that aromatic, fresh, earthly aroma sagebrush ecosystems are known for alive for generations to come.