Public Rangelands Research Articles

36 Beyond Environmentally Adapted, Towards Ecologically Purposed: Sheep Production in the Us West

Abstract Consumer demand for sheep products is robust, the annual consumption of U.S. lamb is steadily rising, and the number of U.S. sheep farms is increasing. Nevertheless, the U.S. sheep industry continues to lose market share to foreign competitors and the breeding ewe inventory has declined 30% since 2002. This decline has been more drastic in the upper U.S. Mountain West states, where ewe inventories have declined 37% compared with the national average decline of 26%. This is problematic given the Mountain West generates one-third and one-half of the total U.S. lamb crop and wool revenue, respectively. This depopulation trend indicates obstacles unique to the Mountain West, which are not experienced elsewhere in the nation. Mountain West sheep production systems depend on both private and public rangelands for grazing, which must co-exist with many other goals for public lands, including species conservation and critical wildlife habitat. Extensive conversion of native rangeland to croplands, rural housing, and degraded grasslands has simultaneously resulted in a substantial loss of wildlife habitat, thus creating competing ideologies for how remaining rangelands should be managed. Accordingly, public land management agencies are constantly pressured to change land management plans to accommodate public agendas aimed at restricting or halting livestock grazing on public lands with the assumption wildlife habitat will automatically improve. Such exclusion of grazing from public lands has negatively impacted operational capacity of sheep ranches, thus posing serious threats to the U.S. sheep industry and its contributions towards national food security, rural communities, and rangeland conservation. Therefore, to maintain grazing access to public lands, sheep producers and land managers urgently need tools (e.g., management, genetic) to optimize both conservation and production outcomes synergistically. However, ecological and sheep genetic outcomes have thus far been considered separate rather than integrated goals. Traditional genetic improvements in sheep production are focused strictly on the sheep without regard to the ecological outcome. In other words, the “ecosystem” is only considered to achieve profitable production within that environment. With this in mind, can sheep research move beyond the traditional focus of “environmentally adapted” flocks to “ecologically purposed” flocks? We propose that heritable ecologically focused traits can be identified and used to complement the overall sheep genetic improvement goals of the industry while creating precision-based solutions for sustainable habitat management, such as mitigating catastrophic wildfire risk, halting noxious weed invasion, and shaping vegetative structure of native plant communities towards desirable rangeland and conservation goals. We believe such outcomes extend beyond shaping public opinion about sheep grazing but also towards introducing novel value-based marketable products from the sheep industry.

Evaluating Riparian Plant Communities After Restoration of Plains Bison in the Northern Great Plains of Montana

Restoration of plains bison (Bison bison bison) in the northern Great Plains has been controversial for a variety of reasons, including the public concern that bison will supplant cattle on public rangelands. Riparian zones are among the most biologically rich areas within rangelands, but they are highly sensitive to disturbances such as grazing, leading to the public perception that riparian vegetation communities will be negatively impacted by year-round bison grazing compared with the norm of seasonal cattle grazing. Our objective was to evaluate the vegetation community and soil compaction conditions of areas in the northern Great Plains of Montana, where bison have been restored 5−10 yr as year-round grazers, compared with adjacent sites where cattle have been retained as seasonal grazers. Out of the 24 variables we assessed, only 2 significantly differed between the grazer treatments within our study's time frame and stocking rates. Native species diversity was significantly higher in the bison-grazed treatment (F[1,1,5.98] = 8.16, P = 0.03), and woody height heterogeneity was twice as high in the bison-grazed treatment than the cattle-grazed treatment (F[1,5.97]= 5.81, P = 0.05). Although longer-term studies are required, our findings indicate that year-round bison grazing under the current stocking rates did not degrade riparian vegetation communities compared with seasonal cattle grazing and rather benefitted some aspects of the plant community.

Influence of Cattle Grazing on the Spatiotemporal Activity of Wildlife

Cattle (Bos taurus) grazing on public lands is widespread across the globe. Public rangelands are managed for multiple purposes, including preservation of wildlife populations; therefore, to manage public rangelands, it is imperative to understand how cattle grazing affects wildlife. Despite this, there is mixed evidence for the impacts of cattle on wildlife and few studies investigate both spatial and temporal aspects of wildlife activity. To improve understanding of how cattle grazing impacts spatiotemporal wildlife activity, we analyzed camera data from three California Department of Fish and Wildlife properties in California, the United States from 2019 to 2021. We recorded 2 863 detections of cattle across all properties and the most abundant wildlife were coyotes (Canis latrans, 572 detections) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus; 1 415 detections). We used generalized linear mixed models and daily activity estimates to quantify cattle, coyote, and mule deer spatial and temporal activity and compared activity during grazing and nongrazing periods (properties were grazed 3−6 mo per year) and between sites with higher and lower cattle use. Mule deer spatial activity changed seasonally and at one property decreased during grazing seasons, but there were no overall significant effects of cattle detections on mule deer spatial activity. However, deer were more nocturnal at sites with higher cattle use, indicating that they may have been partitioning areas temporally with cattle. This shift in activity also increased deer overlap with more nocturnal species, like coyotes. Coyotes increased use of sites with higher activity of their prey and increased use of times with higher cattle activity. Our study suggests that low to moderate cattle grazing does not result in significant spatial displacement of common large mammals; however, shifts in temporal activity patterns of wildlife due to cattle presence may impact predator-prey interactions and wildlife energy expenditure and needs further monitoring.

Exploring Wild Horse Population Dynamics on US Public Rangelands Using a Simple Systems Simulation Model

Public rangeland managers face mounting pressure to resolve wild horse (Equus ferus caballus) population growth in the western United States, whose escalated ecological impact has alarmed numerous stakeholders. Unfortunately, long-term solutions have remained elusive as approved control methods, limited in breadth and scope as a result of legislative changes, hamstring managers and provide only limited, short-term reduction potential (e.g., drylot confinement, adoption, short-term fertility treatments). Management flexibility is further constrained due to costs of confinement (> 50% of the Bureau of Land Management's wild horse and burro program budget), constraints on per-person horse adoptions, and labor intensity of fertility treatments given required follow-up vaccination, which all place significant burdens on federal budgets and staff. To better understand the wild horse population problem, a system dynamics model was constructed linking population levels with current and historical control strategies. For the population to reach balance with appropriate management levels (AMLs) and assuming horse harvest bans and confinement capacities do not change, annual adoption rates of ≈15 000 head or annual short-term fertility control of 40% of mature horses would be required for 38–50 yr, while grazing lease buyouts would only alleviate internal pressure on desired removals. Combinations of increased adoptions and fertility controls balanced the population with AMLs between 16 and 38 yr. Should horse harvest bans be lifted and permanent fertility control become feasible, balance with AML could be achieved in 9–25 yr depending on time of implementation and rate of use. Recognizing mental models underlying various policy priorities will help improve coalition building. Finding ways to reward management creativity that accelerates ecosystem health improvement efforts within the various constraints on public agencies and stakeholders will shorten time delays between implementation of long-term resolutions and observing the results of such effort.

Factors important for bull purchasing decisions and management in extensive rangeland production systems of New Mexico: a producer survey.

There were 463,000 head of beef cows in New Mexico as of January 1, 2021 (NASS, 2020), down roughly 4% from 2020 (NASS, 2019). Frequent drought often results in herd reduction and loss of valuable genetic progress. Bull selection is critical due to their influence on herd development. A survey was conducted to identify traits important to bull selection in New Mexico. Surveys were collected digitally (n = 83) and via the mail (n = 74). Responses were largely by cow/calf producers averaging 57 ± 1 years old with 24 ± 1 years' experience. Survey respondents represented 4,384,296 acres of private owned, private leased, and leased public rangeland and irrigated pasture meadow in New Mexico and surrounding states. Average cow/calf operation size was 294 ± 39 head and average bull herd size was 21 ± 3 head. Average price paid for a bull in the past 2 years was $3,981 ± 213. Physical characteristics, individual bull performance information, and genetic information are all important traits to New Mexico bull buyers; however, most producers (56%) indicated that structural soundness was the most important factor influencing their selection decisions. Amongst expected progeny differences (EPDs), New Mexico producers consider the calving ease direct (CED) and birth weight (BW) EPDS to be most important (40% and 35%, respectively). Producers also indicated that multitrait selection indexes used by the American Angus Association were important to their selection decisions, with the beef value ($B) and weaned calf value ($W) indexes being cited most often (35% and 31%, respectively). Elements important to bull purchase include the bull's sale preview (87%), body condition score (86%), feed efficiency/average daily gain information (85%), and actual scrotal circumference (82%). Following purchase of a new bull, most (60%) keep the bull separate from the cow herd until the following breeding season, while the remaining 40% of producers turn newly purchased bulls out within 30 days of purchase. Sixty eight percent of producers evaluate semen quality annually or prior to the start of the breeding season. Interestingly, 39% of producers indicated they used reproductive technologies like artificial insemination and synchronization of estrus while most (80%) test for trichomoniasis. The primary factor influencing culling decisions is age, followed by soundness and fertility.

Long-Term Trends in Vegetation on Bureau of Land Management Rangelands in the Western United States

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages nearly 1 million km2 of public lands that support recreation, livestock production, and wildlife habitat. Monitoring the condition of vegetation on these lands is crucial for sound management but has historically been difficult to do at scale. Here we used newly developed remote-sensing tools to conduct an unprecedented assessment of trends in vegetation cover and production for all BLM rangelands from 1991 to 2020. We found widespread increases in cover and production of annual grasses and forbs, declines in herbaceous perennial cover, and expansion of trees. Cover and production of annual plants now exceed that of perennials on > 21 million ha of BLM rangeland, marking a fundamental shift in the ecology of these lands. This trend was most dramatic in the Western Cold Desert of Nevada and parts of surrounding states where aboveground production of annuals has more than tripled. Trends in annuals were negatively correlated with trends in bare ground but not with trends in perennials, suggesting that annuals are filling in bare ground rather than displacing perennials. Tree cover increased in half of ecoregions affecting some 44 million ha and underscoring the threat of woodland expansion for western rangelands. A multiscale variance partitioning analysis found that trends often varied the most at the finest spatial scale. This result reinforces the need to combine plot-level field data with moderate-resolution remote sensing to accurately quantify vegetation changes in heterogeneous rangelands. The long-term changes in vegetation on public rangelands argue for a more hands-on approach to management, emphasizing preventative treatment and restoration to preserve rangeland habitat and functioning. Our work shows the power of new remote-sensing tools for monitoring public rangelands and developing effective strategies for adaptive management and conservation.

Bull selection and management in extensive rangeland production systems of California: a producer survey.

California's approximately 660,000 head of beef cattle are highly dependent on range bulls used to produce offspring that can perform across the state's diverse ecological regions. Bulls need to be functional on rugged coastal landscapes, rolling foothills, deserts, and in high-elevation terrain. Few data exist that indicate factors related to selection, maintenance, and longevity of bulls used in rangeland landscapes. Objectives herein, were to assess factors influencing bull purchasing, management, and culling decisions of California beef producers. Surveys were mailed to the California Cattlemen's Association membership (N = 1,410) with ~ 16% response rate (N = 227). Mean age and years of bull selection experience of respondents was 61 ± 1 yr and 27 ± 1 yr, respectively. Respondents managed cattle on a total of 694,949 hectare of owned, private leased, and leased public rangelands in California and surrounding states. Cow-calf herd size was 333 ± 92 head and bull battery averaged 18 ± 2 head with average bull longevity of 5 ± 1.3 yr. The average price paid for bulls in the last 2 yr was $5007 ± 163.33, while the highest price paid in the last 5 yr was $7291 ± 335.40. Survey responses were used to define current factors driving management after purchase and for subsequent breeding seasons. After bull purchase, 48% of producers turned bulls out directly with females, while 52% held bulls until the following breeding season. Additionally, most producers (70%) did not manage bulls to reduce condition after purchase. Semen quality analysis, a major component of a breeding soundness exam, was evaluated annually by 45% of respondents, while 20% of respondents never evaluated semen quality. Respondents indicated bull age (35%) and structural soundness (29%) as the most common factors for culling bulls. This research shows that despite the variability in operation demographics, there were similarities in beef bull selection and management across the state. Additionally, these data suggest the need for additional research focused on bull selection and management to maximize producer investment in reproduction.

Supporting native grasslands in Canada: Lessons learned and future management of the Prairie Pastures Conservation Area (PPCA) in Saskatchewan

Temperate grasslands are the most endangered and least protected biome in the world. Few significant parcels remain and strategies for ongoing protection are critical for conservation efforts worldwide. In southwestern Saskatchewan, three contiguous blocks of native grassland, known as the Prairie Pastures Conservation Area, are federally managed by Environment and Climate Change Canada. Previously, the 800‐km2space was managed by the Department of Agriculture as public rangeland in the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Agency (PFRA). We interviewed 11 individuals, including NGO representatives and pasture patrons, familiar with the PFRA at a native prairie/grassland conference to enhance our understanding of the importance of the agency and the lands in the province to them, as well as to Canada and globally. Themes that emerged included benefits of historic PFRA management, reservations about privatization of pasturelands, and worries about mismanagement. We take these themes and build them into our recommendations for what Environment and Climate Change Canada should do with the Prairie Pastures Conservation Area going forward: enhance Indigenous collaboration, establish a conservation network, and increase public use and awareness.

Adaptive Management and Quail Conservation on Rangelands in the American West

Adaptive management has been and is being practiced with the goal of sustaining populations of wild quails on large areas of rangelands in the American West. Because the current land use practices throughout most of the eastern two-thirds of the United States largely do not promote early-successional vegetation communities, rangelands contain the largest remaining blocks of contiguous (unfragmented) habitat for the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and the other 5 species of quails found in the western states. Many wildlife professionals on both private and public rangelands are practicing a diverse array of quail habitat and population management actions that could be considered a form of adaptive management—an iterative process used to make decisions in the context of uncertainty. Though this “learning by doing” approach is not always formally labeled adaptive management, these wildlife professionals intuitively recognize the value of the process in sustaining populations of wild quails. We support our assertions about adaptive management with 4 case study examples of adaptive management projects that promote quail conservation—including quail hunting—on both private and public rangelands in the American West. By discussing these scenarios within an adaptive management framework, we hope to highlight current and future opportunities for adaptive management in quail conservation on rangelands and to discuss where adaptive management may be improved or no longer be appropriate.

Outcome-Based Approaches for Managing Wildfire Risk: Institutional Interactions and Implementation Within the “Gray Zone”

In the United States, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages rangeland resources under dynamic conditions such as drought, annual grass invasion, and larger and more frequent wildfires. But federal policies governing rangelands are not structured to respond to annual variability or unexpected events. To integrate flexibility into public rangeland administration and potentially leverage fuels management treatments at the landscape scale, the BLM and livestock grazing permittees are exploring outcome-based rangeland management approaches to achieve desired ecological, social and economic conditions. This paper examines administrative policies and barriers to using outcome-based approaches to manage fire risk in Idaho through 70 semistructured interviews with permittees, BLM staff, and other agency and nongovernmental stakeholders in three Idaho BLM field areas. We analyzed how rules and norms in policy implementation contributed to perceptions of barriers within and among different field areas. Factors affecting perceptions of outcome-based rangeland management implementation included BLM staff tenure, permittee-agency relationships, beliefs about the efficacy of grazing to manage fire risk, and leadership and staff experience in navigating National Environmental Policy Act requirements or potential lawsuits. Differences in the informal institutions among field areas led to different interpretations of latitude found within formal institutions (“gray zones”) for implementation. This study highlights the importance of local context and the interactions between administrative policies and agency culture for implementing adaptive approaches to managing wildfire risk on public rangelands.

Management Innovations for Resilient Public Rangelands: Adoption Constraints and Considerations for Interagency Diffusion

Maintaining healthy rangeland ecosystems requires adaptive co-management at the landscape scale. Because the majority of western rangelands are publicly owned, it is critical that federal land management agencies work together in generating and sharing information. Promotion and communication of rangeland management innovations among agencies is one means of sharing information. Two rangeland management innovations, the Weather-Centric Restoration Tool and Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, were studied in order to better understand agency adoption decisions and barriers to diffusion of the innovations across agencies. Using a mixed qualitative methodology, we interviewed land managers across the floristic Great Basin and in southeastern Utah responsible for making or advising rangeland management decisions. Using thematic analysis of participant interviews and land managers’ social networks in southeastern Utah, we were able to identify variables at the innovation, individual, organization, and external system levels that affect innovation adoption and diffusion across agencies. In line with previous research, desirable innovation traits were related to five constructs: complexity, relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, and observability. Interagency siloing was found to be the biggest factor affecting individual and organization-level adoption decisions. External sociopolitical factors were also found to create organization-level barriers including funding streams, legal considerations, and differing institutional cultures between agencies. While management innovations are hindered by these hurdles, innovations also serve as promoters of institutional change that reshape these constraints. However, overcoming barriers to innovation requires the presence of innovation champions who can influence both incremental bottom-up and top-down processes.

PSI-34 Factors influencing bull selection and management in extensive rangeland production systems of California

Abstract California’s 660,000 head of beef cattle are highly dependent on bulls used to produce offspring that can perform across the state’s diverse ecological regions. Bulls need to be functional on rugged coastal landscapes, rolling foothills, deserts and in high-elevation terrain. Few data exist that indicate factors related to selection, maintenance and longevity of bulls used in rangeland landscapes. Objectives herein, were to assess factors influencing bull purchasing, management, and culling decisions of California beef producers. Surveys were mailed to the California Cattlemen’s Association membership (n = 1,410) with ~ 12% response rate (n = 171). Data were analyzed for 56% of respondents (n = 95). Mean age and years of bull selection experience of respondents was 61 ± 1 years and 27 ± 2 years, respectively. Respondents managed cattle on a total of 694,949 ha of owned, private leased, and leased public rangelands in California and surrounding states. Cow-calf herd size was 378 ± 92 head and bull battery averaged 18 ± 3 head with average bull longevity of 5 ± 0.8 years. The average price paid for bulls in the last 2 years was $5166 ± 298, while the highest price paid in the last 5 years was $6958 ± 445. Survey responses were used to define current factors driving management after purchase and for subsequent breeding seasons. Methodology for bull turnout management (i.e. high-energy diet, pasture, supplemental hay) had no impact (P = 0.13) on average age of bulls when culled. After bull purchase, 46% of producers turned bulls out directly with females, while 49% held bulls until the following breeding season. Additionally, most producers (75%) did not manage bulls to reduce condition after purchase. Average bull longevity was moderately correlated (P = 0.01; r2 = 0.30) with average bull price a producer was willing to pay. The average age of bulls when culled was not influenced (P = 0.42) by the frequency of semen quality evaluation. Semen quality was evaluated annually by 45% of respondents, while 20% of respondents never evaluated semen quality. Respondents indicated bull age (35%) and structural soundness (29%) as the most common factors for culling bulls. This research suggests the need for additional research focused on bull selection and management to maximize producer investment in reproduction.

Temporal Overlap Among Feral Horses, Cattle, and Native Ungulates at Water Sources

ABSTRACTFeral horse (Equus ferus caballus) populations on public rangelands in the western United States threaten forage production for livestock and wildlife habitat. Interference competition between feral horses and heterospecifics at watering sources can have negative effects on livestock and wildlife. Researchers have documented altered timing and behavior of wild ungulates at water sources when horses were present. The few studies examining these interactions have infrequently occurred within areas specifically managed for feral equids and have not occurred in sites with cattle. We used motion‐sensitive cameras at 8 watering sources to document watering activity patterns and construct indices of temporal overlap among feral horses, cattle, elk (Cervus canadensis), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) within the Adobe Town Herd Management Area in southern Wyoming, USA, between June and September 2018 and 2019. Feral horses, cattle, and pronghorn exhibited a high degree of temporal overlap (>79%) in water use, with feral horses and pronghorn exhibiting the highest estimated percent overlap (88.1%, 95% CI = 86.5–89.6%). Mule deer and elk watering activity also overlapped with horses and cattle but to a lesser degree (<55%). Feral horses spent a mean of 16.7 ± 30.5 (SD) minutes during a watering event and were present at a given water source on average 4.5 ± 6.3% and up to 34.9% of the day, which is less than reported in previous studies. Cattle spent on average 23.5 ± 44.9 minutes during a watering event, and were present on average 4.2 ± 7.7% and up to 42.4% of the day at a single water source. Results of generalized linear mixed‐effects models indicated that number of conspecifics was the strongest predictor of visit duration for pronghorn and horses; hour of the day and group size of heterospecifics were informative, but less important, variables. There was no difference in peak visitation time for any species between sites of high versus low horse or cattle use. Despite temporal overlap, we did not find evidence of interference competition between feral horses, cattle, and pronghorn. We recommend future examination of interference competition and its biological consequences between introduced and native ungulates at water sources of varying size across sites, equid population levels, and livestock stocking rates. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

Assessing Large Herbivore Management Strategies in the Northern Great Plains Using Rangeland Health Metrics

Maximizing rangeland health has become a popular theme in North American grassland management. Quantifying rangeland health is particularly important when attempting to compare different management strategies ongoing in priority conservation areas, such as those within the Northern Great Plains (NGP). We investigated the response of five vegetative components of rangeland health to three large grazer management strategies on individual sites within public and private rangelands in northeastern Montana: Bureau of Land Management allotments that continuously maintained rotational cattle (Bos taurus) grazing, US Fish and Wildlife Service designated wilderness areas where cattle were removed, and lands managed by the American Prairie Reserve where cattle were removed and bison (Bison bison) were reintroduced. We then compared sites relative to historical climax plant community (HCPC) conditions—our management target. Our bison-restored site had exotic plant abundances most similar to the HCPC, and significantly lower than our other sites. Our cattle-removal site maintained litter cover most similar to the HCPC, while other sites were lower than target conditions. Overall, differences among our bison-restored and cattle-retention sites were slight relative to the HCPC. Although our treatments were represented by a single site, no single management strategy achieved all five vegetative measures of rangeland health based on HCPC targets. We observed several differences between sites that could inform future grazer management in this region. We provide a novel process to quantifiably compare rangeland health across areas with different grazer management approaches. Without quantitative assessments and long-term monitoring, assessing rangeland health can be overly subjective, and may not inform ongoing concerns surrounding grazing management in the NGP.

Determination of the factors affecting utilization rate of Eastern Anatolian semiarid public rangelands in Turkey

Rangelands are important natural resources for the nations with a various measurable and immeasurable outputs such as forage for farm animals, biological diversity, soil and water conservation and ecosystem functions. However, unconscious exploitation has resulted in weakening, deterioration and exhaustion of these natural resources in time. In achieving an effective, sustainable use at a minimum environmental cost without foregoing economic and social development, policy measures towards conscious utilization, conservation and restoration of these resources are of vital importance. Furthermore, user-friendly, robust policy measures require correct scientific information on the actual utilization of rangelands. The effects of various natural and human induced factors on the rangeland forage yield and its utilization rate were researched in this study. Data were collected from the rangelands of 11 villages in five districts of Erzurum province, Turkey. Descriptive statistics and mixed effect panel regression models were used in data analysis. According to the results it was concluded that 1) because of heavy grazing pressure versus low forage production, high-altitude sites, east and southwest slopes should specifically be given the priority in rangeland rehabilitation studies, 2) drought resistant species should be preferred for the overseeding practices due to the xeric nature of southerly slopes, 3) to avoid excessive exploitation and to realize balanced utilization in all rangeland sites, grazing plans should be developed and strictly followed by each village authority, and 4) Heavy grazing pressure on rangelands gets even worse in drought seasons. Therefore, rangelands should be relatively lightly utilized in such seasons not to cause herbage yield losses and other unwanted outcomes in subsequent years.

Twofold excessive utilization rate yields high financial equivalent but seriously threatens public rangelands in Turkey

The aim of this study was to estimate the utilization rate and financial equivalent of the utilized rangeland forage to quantify the extent of grazing pressure on the semiarid Turkish rangelands, and to attract the public attention to the importance of rangelands in national economy. The study was conducted in Erzurum province of Turkey. In permanent 12 representative sites in each of village rangelands, cages of 1 m height and 1 m × 1 m floor area, were placed and forage under cages was clipped to the ground at the end of the grazing seasons in 2007 and 2008. Simultaneously, the forage outside the cages was sampled with random quadrats. Financial equivalent of the utilized rangeland forage was estimated using surrogate market valuation method. In data analysis were employed descriptive statistical methods and one-way ANOVA test. According to the results, the average rangeland dry forage yield was 1012 kg.ha–1 and rangeland utilization rate was 69 per cent, roughly two-fold higher than suggested rates. Under the prevailing conditions, the financial equivalent of the utilized rangeland forage is about 526 TRY or 92 USD per hectare. It was concluded that utilization rate or grazing period should be deflated by 50% for sustainable resource use by allowing rangeland plants to regenerate.

Public Land and Resources Law in the American West: Time for Another Comprehensive Review?

The federal public lands, a defining characteristic of the American West, are embroiled in change and controversy. This is nothing new as these lands have long ignited passions linked to debates over resource development versus protection and federal-state relations. During the past fifty years, however, changes engulfing the region have helped enflame these historic debates, driven by unparalleled population growth, major economic and social shifts, water conflicts, energy development demands, climate change impacts, emergent recreational and environmental values, new scientific knowledge, extensive litigation, reduced agency budgets, new community-based collaborative initiatives, and the like. These remarkable changes are testing the legal and institutional framework governing the public lands, which has changed little during the past fifty years despite recurrent criticism directed toward its shortcomings. In fact, the last comprehensive review of federal public land and resource law occurred during the 1960s, when the Public Land Law Review Commission convened and issued a groundbreaking report that helped prompt much-needed legal reforms, such as the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, National Forest Management Act, Payment in Lieu of Taxes Act, and Public Rangelands Improvement Act. Given the level of controversy prevailing on the public lands today, this Article addresses the question whether the time has come for another comprehensive review of the relevant laws governing these publicly owned lands and their resources. The Article identifies the changes that are inexorably reshaping public land policies, reviews past efforts through federal commissions to examine and reform the laws governing these lands, and assesses the prospects for another comprehensive review. Noting the extreme level of controversy and distrust that persists today, it concludes by proposing a more limited review effort, one focused on accelerating recreational uses and conflicts that may present an opportunity to achieve consensus for the sake of the landscape that everyone is sharing and values.

‘Storytelling’ Natural Resource Conflict on U.S. Public Lands

ABSTRACTLivestock grazing is an extensive and long-standing natural resource use on U.S. public lands that has become extremely controversial in recent decades. In this article, we approach the controversy over public lands grazing as an ‘ontological conflict’ that goes beyond a struggle over different perspectives on nature/reality and involves the ongoing making of different realities/worlds. We bring together historical and ethnographic material from the Tonto National Forest in Arizona in a verbal and visual process of ‘storytelling’ to show how multiple and conflicting imaginations of the public rangelands have emerged and taken on or lost reality over time through multiple, shifting, and often contradictory processes of translation of the relationships among entities in a network that includes humans, nonhumans, discursive and social structures, and social forces. While this approach was originally developed in the context of indigenous studies, it has much to offer in the study of non-indigenous resource conflicts.

Influence of Ecosystem Services on Management Decisions by Public Land Ranchers in the Intermountain West, United States

Ecosystem services are benefits humans obtain as a result of ecosystem processes and conditions. In the western United States, public rangelands are managed for a spectrum of ecosystem services on behalf of multiple stakeholders. Decisions of ranchers who hold public land grazing allotments must balance operational needs for forage with societal expectations for other ecosystem services. To better understand their choices regarding ecosystem services, we interviewed ranchers to learn about the bases for their management decisions and identify services they believe rangelands provide. A total of 19 services were identified, many of which reflected ranchers’ recognition that they manage within the context of a broader social-ecological system (e.g., maintaining open space). We then conducted a mail survey of Bureau of Land Management grazing permittees in six states to understand the importance they personally place on different services, as well as the extent to which they manage with those services in mind. Fourteen of the 19 ecosystem services identified in interviews were reported by at least 50% of the survey sample (N = 435) as influencing their management decisions. Most respondents reported trying to manage deeded and leased land to the same standard. Aside from forage for livestock (ranked #1), ranchers were less likely to report managing for provisioning services than for cultural, supporting, and regulating services. Importance ratings for ecosystem services followed a similar pattern, although there were a few differences in rank order. Ranchers tended to report managing for more ecosystem services if they had larger operations, earned at least 50% of their income from ranching, spent more time out on the ranch, and relied on multiple sources for information about range management. Results indicate public land ranchers believe they are managing for multifunctionality, balancing their own operational needs with those of society.

Patterns of rangeland productivity and land ownership: Implications for conservation and management.

Rangelands cover 40–50% of the Earth's terrestrial surface. While often characterized by limited, yet variable resource availability, rangelands are vital for humans, providing numerous ecosystem goods and services. In the conterminous United States (CONUS), the dominant component of rangeland conservation is a network of public rangelands, concentrated in the west. Public rangelands are interspersed with private and tribal rangelands resulting in a complex mosaic of land tenure and management priorities. We quantify ownership patterns of rangeland production at multiple scales across CONUS and find that both total production and average productivity of private rangelands is more than twice that of public and tribal rangelands. At finer scales, private rangelands are consistently more productive than their public counterparts. We also demonstrate an inverse relationship between public rangeland acreage and productivity. While conserving acreage is crucial to rangeland conservation, just as critical are broad‐scale ecological patterns and processes that sustain ecosystem services. Across CONUS, ownership regimes capture distinct elements of these patterns and services, demonstrated through disparate production dynamics. As ownership determines the range of feasible conservation actions, and the technical and financial resources available to implement them, understanding ownership‐production dynamics is critical for effective and sustained conservation of rangeland ecosystem services.