Albert Einstein suggested that our perception of space is relative to the speed at which we move through it. Inspired by this principle, we modified it into a new take on land management: Our perception and understanding of the natural world depends on how fast we travel across the landscape. Walking slowly through sagebrush, we can notice an ant trail and the species of forb leaves they carry. We see richness and nuance, complexity and diversity. But when covering hundreds or thousands of acres, we don’t have the luxury of going slow. Management at these scales requires us to move faster, and as we do, the landscape blurs and details grow coarse. We need to find the right ratio of area to detail.

Threat-based land management, the framework presented in this manager’s guide, is a 60-mph approach. Driving at that speed, we see the patterns and problems affecting our rangelands: sagebrush seas and bunchgrass hues, annual grass patches and juniper woodlands. Sagebrush rangeland managers are responsible for vast acres. They cannot slowly observe every detail, especially when the primary threats to the ecosystem — annual grass invasion, conifer encroachment, and wildfire — dwarf finer-scale habitat needs and local management progress.