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MANAGING LIVESTOCK GRAZING
Author
Beck, Jeffrey L.
G. Karl, Michael "Sherm"
Chambers, Jeanne C.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2018
Body

Federal and state agencies are working together with private landowners to maintain or improve habitat for greater sage-grouse and other species at-risk in a manner appropriate for site conditions and landowner interests. Designing livestock grazing management practices to improve habitats requires a consistent approach that can be applied across jurisdictions. The Science Framework provides an approach for determining an area�s suitability for management actions and the appropriate types of actions that can be applied to livestock grazing management. At the mid-scale (ecoregion or Management Zone) geospatial data and analyses are used to evaluate: 1) the predominant disturbances and stressors; 2) the likely response of an area to disturbance or stress and/or management actions (i.e., resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasion by annual grasses); and 3) the capacity of an area to support target species and/or resources. At the local scale (field office or district) ecological types/sites and state-and-transition models are useful for: 1) characterizing the area and its relative resilience and resistance; 2) evaluating the current ecological dynamics of the ecological types/sites and, where possible, their restoration pathways; and 3) selecting livestock grazing management practices with potential to increase ecosystem functioning and habitat conditions. Evaluating the habitat objectives for sage-grouse and other species at risk can help determine if the management area (e.g., grazing allotment) has potential to achieve the objectives and, if so, the specific livestock grazing management practices needed to achieve the objectives. Greater sage-grouse breeding and nesting seasonal habitat, and brood-rearing/summer seasonal habitat have the greatest potential to be affected by livestock grazing and vegetation objectives have been established for these habitats. Ecological type/site descriptions and state-and-transition models can be used to evaluate current habitat characteristics and determine appropriate livestock grazing management practices for meeting habitat objectives.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Reno, NV
Collection
SRM Annual Meeting Abstracts