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RANCHER PERCEPTIONS OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ON INTERMOUNTAIN WEST RANGELANDS.
Author
York, Betsey
Brunson, Mark
Hulvey, Kristin
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2017
Body

Ecosystem services are benefits that humans obtain as a result of ecosystem processes and conditions. Rangelands in the Intermountain West are increasingly expected to provide ecosystem services to the general public as well as ranchers. Land management agencies in cooperation with ranchers have created management plans to fulfill this need. Successful plans manage for a suite of ecosystem services including those necessary for livestock production as well as ecosystem function and human appreciation. There is a need to understand the values placed on certain ecosystem services by those charged with implementing range management plans. During the summer of 2016, 11 in-person, semi-structured interviews were conducted to broadly understand the values ranchers place on ecosystem services. Interview participants were ranchers in the tri-state corner of Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. The interviews lasted about an hour and asked general background of the operation as well as management strategies for various ecosystem services produced by their land to understand value placed. Once interviews were completed, two researchers independently analyzed transcribed interviews for common themes. A variety of services were highlighted as part of management schema and could be placed into three�management motivation categories. The categories are: (1) livestock production, (2) heritage and legacy preservation, and (3) destiny control. These common themes seem to determine how the majority of decisions are made on livestock operations. Themes were also used to develop a survey administered in Fall 2016 to a larger sample of ranchers across the Great Basin. This research will aid agencies such as the BLM, USFS and NRCS in understanding rancher motivations for management. By understanding what resources are highly valued by ranchers, plans that include these services, as well as those desired by the public, will be developed for more widespread manager adoption.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM St. George, UT
Collection
SRM Annual Meeting Abstracts