The SGS-LTER research site was established in 1980 by researchers at Colorado State University as part of a network of long-term research sites within the US LTER Network, supported by the National Science Foundation. Scientists within the Natural Resource Ecology Lab, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, and Biology Department at CSU, California State Fullerton, USDA Agricultural Research Service, University of Northern Colorado, and the University of Wyoming, among others, have contributed to our understanding of the structure and functions of the shortgrass steppe and other diverse ecosystems across the network while maintaining a common mission and sharing expertise, data and infrastructure.Declines in burrowing owl populations are inextricably linked to human activity and associated disturbances. Habitat loss and rodent control programs are the primary cause of observed declines (Butts 1973). Recreational shooting, harassment, and other human disturbances may exacerbate this decline by promoting mortality and nest failure in local populations. The extent and magnitude of these effects, however, remain unknown (Haug et al. 1993, Holroyd 1998)
