This document provides policymakers, resource managers, and specialists with a comprehensive framework for assessing sage-grouse habitat in the sagebrush ecosystem.  Four pillars form the foundation for the success of this approach:  science, effective conservation policy, implementation, and adaptive management.  Recent landscape evaluations indicate that conservation of sagebrush ecosystems has not been realized because large-scale mapping was not available to inform site-scale management actions.  Advances in landscape ecology enable conservation planners to develop spatially explicit decision support tools that link populations with habitats for effective conservation planning, implementation, and evaluation at landscape scales.  A shift from local to landscape conservation will empower decision makers to maximize the likelihood of achieving conservation by implementing site-scale actions within priority landscapes.  Standardized methodologies provide consistency in terminology and techniques for site-scale assessments.