Abstract: In this session, Dr. Chelsea Nagy focuses on the relationships between fire, climate change and invasive species, highlighting the complexities of these interconnections in Sagebrush Steppe ecosystems. Some of these connections include:

• Rising temperatures favor invasive annual grasses and extend their range,
• Climate change stresses native ecosystems, leaving them vulnerable to invasion,
• Invasive grasses can promote more frequent fire (due to their fuel characteristics) and often do better after fires than native plants, and
• Fires are made more frequent by climate change.

These positive feedback loops are perpetuating a shift towards novel ecosystems.

In the second half of the session, Dr. Nagy introduces the RAD (Resist-Accept-Direct) management framework and provides an example of how it might function in the conservation of a Sagebrush Steppe ecosystem.