Photo Credit: Joseph Thomas

WildEarth Guardians’ research and reports – in-depth analysis of conservation issues

Research + Reports

WildEarth Guardians’ in-depth, well-researched reports reveal the sordid details of the federal government’s War on Wildlife; expose the cost of coal; assess water quality on public lands; and much more.

Reports are organized by each of our programs: Climate + Energy , Wildlife, Public Lands, and Rivers, as well as general Guardians reports. Click on the image of a report or the hyperlinked text below it to read or download a pdf version.

Wildlife Reports

No Rest for the Weary:
Why Seasonal Oil & Gas Closures Aren’t Protecting Wildlife in New Mexico

View the 2007 report

Lesser Prairie-Chicken: The Sky Really is Falling

View the 2004 report

Climate and Energy Reports

Keep it in the Ground

View the 2015 report

Getting it Right:
A Test for Success for the Colorado Oil and Gas Task Force

View the 2014 report

Unfair Market Value:
By Ignoring Exports, BLM Underprices Federal Coal

View the 2014 report

Unaccounted Carbon Costs Pushing America into the Red

View the 2014 report

Xposing Xcel:
The Toll of Coal in Colorado

View the 2009 report

UnderMining the Climate

View the 2009 report

Public Lands Reports

Forest Roads in California

View the 2014 report

Changes in Public Lands Ranching in Gila Bioregion

View the 2014 report

Assessing Beaver Habitat on Federal Lands in New Mexico

View the 2013 report

Restoration in Action 2013

View the 2013 report

Reclaiming Roads: Measuring Success

View the 2012 report

Clean Waters, Wild Forests

View the 2011 report

2011 Fires in the Southwest:
An Analysis of Burn Severity

View the 2011 report

Ponderosa Pine in Peril:
Assessing Public Lands Livestock Grazing in Ponderosa Pine Forests

View the 2009 report

The Greater Gila Bioregion:
America’s First Wilderness

View the 2009 report

The Shrinking Sagebrush Sea

View the 2008 report

Best Management Practices for Off-Road Vehicle Use on Forestlands

View the 2008 report

Six Strategies for Success:
Effective Enforcement of Off-Road Vehicles on Public Lands

View the 2007 report

Mortgaging Our National Heritage

View the 2006 report

Rivers Reports

The Rio Grande—Rethinking Rivers

View the 2018 report

Water Woes:

How Dams, Diversions, Dirty Water and Droughts Put America’s Wildlife at Risk

View the 2012 report

Guardians’ Reports

A Wild Future

View the case statement

A Force for Nature

View the 2013 report

2013 Priorities: A Courageous Voice for the Natural World

View the 2013 report

Dustin Martin

Member, Board of Directors

Dustin grew up hiking, camping, riding, skiing and running the vast outdoor sanctuaries surrounding Gallup, NM. Distance running led him to New York City, where he earned an undergraduate degree in anthropology from Columbia University. In 2011, Dustin returned to the southwest to serve as program director for Wings of America- a not for profit that empowers Tribal youth and their families by introducing them to the cultural, spiritual and competitive legacy of Native runners. Under his leadership, the organization has continued to provide elite-level opportunities for talented Native runners while making a concerted effort to create new programs for fledgling harriers of all abilities. Moving forward, Dustin hopes to continue promoting the positive achievements of Native runners while helping foster and test new models for acquainting Native youth with their ancestral homelands.

Tricia Snyder

Rio Grande Campaigner

Tricia, as a child of military parents, spent much of her childhood moving frequently in the U.S. and abroad, but calls El Paso, TX home. Growing up on the banks of the (often dry) Rio Grande and the water scarcity of the Southwest sparked a life-long interest in finding solutions for water conflicts in the arid and semi-arid American West. Tricia received a B.S. in Geography with a focus on human-environment connection from New Mexico State University. Her research while there centered on water management across borders. She spent 5 years working with the Southwest Environmental Center working to protect and restore the wildlife and wild places of the Southwest borderlands, particularly focused on the recovery of the Mexican gray wolf. In 2015, Tricia moved to Washington state to pursue a graduate degree, receiving an M.S. in Cultural and Environmental Resource Management from Central Washington University. Her thesis, which conducted an adaptive capacity assessment of the Upper Klamath Basin, utilized both quantitative and qualitative research methods. She worked for nearly four years on salmon recovery as the Lead Entity Coordinator for the Yakima Basin in central Washington, bringing together a diverse group of interests and perspectives. Tricia joined WildEarth Guardians as the Rio Grande Campaigner in 2021.

WildEarth Guardians’ research and reports – in-depth analysis of conservation issues

Research + Reports

Wildlife Reports

Creating Prairie Dog Management Plans

Report from the Burrow 2017

War on Wildlife: A Report on the USDA’s “Wildlife Services” Program

Top 10 Species Priorities for a New Administration

Progress for Protection

Report from the Burrow 2016

Sage Grouse Conservation Efforts and Population Trends

The Shrinking Geography of Sage Grouse Conservation

Report from the Burrow 2015

Adobe Town Briefing Book 2015

Local Regulations Inadequate to Protect Gunnison Sage Grouse

The Nevada Sagebrush Landscape Bill

Report from the Burrow 2014

Report from the Burrow 2013

The Deadliest Dozen Counties in the American West

Northern Rocky Mountain Wolves: A Public Policy Process Failure

Report from the Burrow 2012

Fueling Extinction: How Dirty Energy Drives Wildlife to the Brink

Beaver and Climate Change Adaptation in North America

Report from the Burrow 2011

Report from the Burrow 2010

Put the Fangs Back in Wilderness!

Report from the Burrow 2009

A Vision for Wolves in the Southern Rocky Mountains

America’s Top 40

Western Wildlife Under Hoof

War on Wildlife

Lesser Prairie-Chicken: A Decade in Purgatory

Report from the Burrow 2008

No Rest for the Weary: Why Seasonal Oil & Gas Closures Aren’t Protecting Wildlife in New Mexico

Lesser Prairie-Chicken: The Sky Really is Falling

Climate and Energy Reports

Keep it in the Ground

Getting it Right: A Test for Success for the Colorado Oil and Gas Task Force

Unfair Market Value: By Ignoring Exports, BLM Underprices Federal Coal

Unaccounted Carbon Costs Pushing America into the Red

Xposing Xcel: The Toll of Coal in Colorado

UnderMining the Climate

Public Lands Reports

Forest Roads in California

Changes in Public Lands Ranching in Gila Bioregion

Assessing Beaver Habitat on Federal Lands in New Mexico

Restoration in Action 2013

Reclaiming Roads: Measuring Success

Clean Waters, Wild Forests

2011 Fires in the Southwest: An Analysis of Burn Severity

Ponderosa Pine in Peril: Assessing Public Lands Livestock Grazing in Ponderosa Pine Forests

The Greater Gila Bioregion: America’s First Wilderness

The Shrinking Sagebrush Sea

Best Management Practices for Off-Road Vehicle Use on Forestlands

Six Strategies for Success: Effective Enforcement of Off-Road Vehicles on Public Lands

Mortgaging Our National Heritage

Rivers Reports

The Rio Grande—Rethinking Rivers

Water Woes:

How Dams, Diversions, Dirty Water and Droughts Put America’s Wildlife at Risk

Guardians’ Reports

A Wild Future

A Force for Nature

2013 Priorities: A Courageous Voice for the Natural World

WildEarth Guardians protects and restores the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West.

Dustin Martin

Member, Board of Directors

Francine D. Spang-Willis

Member, Board of Directors

Contact

Tricia Snyder

Rio Grande Campaigner

War on Wildlife:
A Report on the USDA’s “Wildlife Services” Program

Northern Rocky Mountain Wolves:
A Public Policy Process Failure

Fueling Extinction:
How Dirty Energy Drives Wildlife to the Brink

No Rest for the Weary:
Why Seasonal Oil & Gas Closures Aren’t Protecting Wildlife in New Mexico

Getting it Right:
A Test for Success for the Colorado Oil and Gas Task Force

Unfair Market Value:
By Ignoring Exports, BLM Underprices Federal Coal

Xposing Xcel:
The Toll of Coal in Colorado

2011 Fires in the Southwest:
An Analysis of Burn Severity

Ponderosa Pine in Peril:
Assessing Public Lands Livestock Grazing in Ponderosa Pine Forests

The Greater Gila Bioregion:
America’s First Wilderness

Six Strategies for Success:
Effective Enforcement of Off-Road Vehicles on Public Lands