NEVADA: The view from above – Using drones to map sagebrush ecosystems

Nevada is known colloquially as the “Sagebrush State”—a nod to the dominant habitat that covers tens of millions of acres in the state and nearly one-third of the continental United States. And while it can be tempting to view this expanse as a monotonous sweep of land dominated by a single species, sagebrush ecosystems are in fact quite diverse, supporting hundreds of species uniquely adapted to a hot and arid climate.