Get reliable science

While off-stream water developments have long been considered a valuable tool for managing rangeland livestock distribution, actually quantifying the efficacy of these developments has been difficult. Continuous monitoring of the timing and intensity of livestock use near water developments has been challenging. Refinements in GPS tracking technologies, however, have provided a means to address this knowledge gap. We conducted a 5-year study (2008-2012) at three study sites in northeastern Oregon to contrast relative cattle use near water infrastructure vs. stream riparian areas. Ten randomly-selected cows from different herds grazing each site, were fitted with GPS collars that recorded position, date, and time at 5-minute intervals throughout the grazing season. About 3.75 million cow positions were collected. Timing and duration of cattle occupancy in 60-m buffers along perennial streams and 60-m buffers around water developments were determined monthly and annually for each site. Cattle use varied substantially by site, month, and year. In some months, cattle exclusively used water infrastructure, and in others cattle almost exclusively used streams and riparian areas. Our results suggest off-stream water development can be highly effective for cattle distribution management. However, careful consideration of placement and development type are required to improve the likelihood that cattle will find and use these water sources thus decreasing their dependence on permanent streams and consequent impacts on aquatic and riparian habitats.