sagebrush and cinders..what to do?

hi, in about a month i'll be looking at some land in nothern arizona(USA) that has been described as cinders, sagebrush and utah juniper. unfortunately i wont have any more information until i get out there.
thers not likely to be any more water than rain. so, the question at this point is what are the best things to plant in sagebrush country, in cinder soil?
what else needs done?

i know a bit about water harvesting etc.
the owner wants to "do somthing" with the land.

What area are you talking about?  I lived in Phoenix for a number of years and have relatives in northern AZ.