“…Such functional and intact rangeland ecosystems are linked to a diversity of ecosystem services (ES) benefiting people living in the western US (Havstad et al, 2007;Maczko et al, 2011;Teague et al, 2013), including the provisioning of recreational opportunities, food and fiber (via ranching), carbon sequestration, water security, and wildlife habitat (Havstad et al, 2007). However, pressure from changing demographics and demands (Maczko et al, 2011;Reeves et al, 2018) is creating strong financial incentives for the sale of privately owned rangelands for housing development and more intensive forms of agriculture (Huntsinger and Hopkinson, 1996;Goldstein et al, 2011;Maczko et al, 2011;Wetzel et al, 2012;Cameron et al, 2014). This transformation of rangeland ecosystems in the form of both fragmentation and conversion has a substantial impact on the vitality of rural economies, wildlife and bird habitat, recreational opportunities, and carbon storage, among other benefits (Resnik et al, 2006;Havstad et al, 2007;Maczko et al, 2011;Reeves et al, 2018).…”