Rangeland Ecology & Management

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LAND MANAGER PERCEPTIONS OF THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS TO USING LIVESTOCK TO MANAGE INVASIVE PLANTS
Author
Shapero, Matthew W.
James, Jeremy J.
Huntsinger, Lynn
Beccehtti, Theresa
Mashiri, Fadzayi
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2018
Body

The ecological impacts of invasive plants on rangelands have been widely documented, and yet the implementation of successful, long-term invasive plant management programs has remained limited. A growing body of research has identified domestic livestock grazing as the most practical and economical tool available to control invasive rangeland plants. While these studies have addressed potential limitations, to date we do not have a systematic assessment of the challenges and opportunities that producers and other land managers see as most important when considering the use of livestock to manage invasive plants. As a first step toward addressing this need, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with ranchers, public agency personnel, and NGO land managers who work on rangelands across California. While interviewees broadly agreed that grazing could be an effective management tool, differences emerged between the three groups in the priority they gave to invasive species control, the resources they devoted to control, and the grazing strategies employed. Interviewees identified common challenges that hinder broad-scale adoption of control efforts, such as the potential incompatibility of invasive plant management and livestock production; a lack of secure, long-term access to land for many ranchers; incomplete or insufficient information, such as the location or extent of infestations or the economic impacts to operations of invasive plants; and the temporal and spatial variability of the ecosystem. The results from this study should help guide future research and extension on using grazing animals to manage invasive plants that accounts for and addresses the practicality of large-scale management on working landscapes.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Reno, NV