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Managing Western pine forests for multiple-use is increasingly important for sustainable and efficient provisioning of ecosystem goods and services. A better understanding of the relationships among livestock grazing practices, timber and forage production, plant community composition, wildlife, and aesthetics is critical to reduce uncertainty and optimize management. To investigate relationships among 16 years of prior resource use and present forage production, pine seedling recruitment and plant community composition, grazed meadows and forests in 44 pastures were surveyed over two years in the Black Hills, SD across gradients of duration and timing of use, and herbage allowance expressed as the relationship between estimated herbage intake and estimated peak standing crop. Plant species richness was negatively correlated with herbage allowance (-0.31, n = 349, P < 0.001). Measured herbaceous production was positively correlated with estimated productivity (0.41, n = 246, P < 0.001). During two favorable growing season plant species richness and plant stature were more closely related to herbage allowance than to duration of use. Relationships quantified suggest that herbage allowance can determine stocking rates which balance livestock production and diversity in western pine forests.