Get reliable rangeland science

This presentation will highlight the major conceptual advances that have occurred in rangeland science and management during the past 25 years. These rapid advances appear to have been a consequence of the juxtaposition of multiple, interrelated events that occurred within a relatively short period to markedly transform the rangeland profession. These critical events occurred both internal and external to the rangeland profession and they comprised both scientific and socio-political developments. The most influential ecological, scientific and socio-political events contributing to transformation of the rangeland profession in the past 25 years were rapid woody plant expansion that solidified dissatisfaction with the traditional range model, the introduction of resilience that provided a conceptual framework for development of an alternative rangeland assessment procedure, and the National Research Council's report on Rangeland Health that delivered the political momentum necessary to implement this change. This series of interrelated events created conditions that challenged the traditional concepts and provided insights necessary for development of alternative concepts at a time when the scientific capacity of the profession was rapidly increasing. A new era of rangeland science has emerged based upon the implications of these recent conceptual advances to management recommendations and policy decisions within the context of coupled human-ecological systems that are confronting 21st century challenges.