Lessons from the Past: Have We Learned from Our Mistakes?

Abstract

While the past is the necessary background for our future, mistakes from the past may now be hindering progress toward improved range management. We still cling to outdated range condition concepts and models, reporting of range condition has never been standardized, we lack consistent monitoring methodology, we often do not set monitoring objectives prior to monitoring, and we continue to use outdated "Rule-of-Thumb" concepts to manage. One such concept is that of range readiness, which delays start of grazing until a certain plant growth target has been met. While useful for continuous grazing systems, this concept may actually be detrimental when applied to a rotation system. Other rule-of-thumb concepts include using utilization as an objective when it properly is a tool, inappropriate use of rest, and continued efforts to attempt to determine apparent trend instead of measuring trend over time. We continue to perpetuate myths that have no basis in fact including: the Intermountain region evolved without heavy grazing pressure, the Western U.S. was "pristine" prior to arrival by European man, and bison were migratory animals which minimized their impact on the rangeland. Until we overcome these and other erroneous or outdated ideas from our past, we will continue to have problems making progress toward better management of our rangelands.