Four potential cattle grazing systems on summer range in the Sierra Nevada are compared in terms of deer harvest, number of hunters attracted, and the net economic value of hunting. Research on deer carrying capacity response to different 3-year rest rotation grazing patterns indicates continuous moderate grazing provides 82% of the potential deer carrying capacity. A 2-years-off, 1-year-on grazing system provides 94% of potential deer carrying capacity. The increase in carrying capacity associated with grazing 1 year in 3 could increase buck harvest by 200 animals in the Sierra Nevada's hunt zone D5. Change in deer harvest in the previous year is one of the key variables in a model that determines the attractiveness of hunt zones to California deer hunters. The model predicts that increasing buck harvest by 200 deer in hunt zone D5 results in 2,721 more hunters visiting this zone each year. This translates into nearly 11,835 more trips. The net economic value of these additional hunters is determined based on a simulated market approach. Using the value from the hunter survey, the annual increase in hunting value is 2.3 million. The present value of this change over each 3-year rest-rotation cycle is 6.5 million using a 4% discount rate. The incremental benefits of deer hunting gained under the 2-years-off, 1-year-on grazing system is greater than the lost net economic value of the forage to the rancher as computed by USDA Economic Research Service. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.