Werner and Urness looked at the forage use by elk in pastures that were on rest in a rest-rotation grazing system in central Utah. Elk use varied from 14-42% utilization, within the four rested pastures, from June to August in 1994 and 1995. Plants responded to early growing season defoliation, with forage regrowth of 81, 49 and 55% regrowth within the Burnt Flat, Ranger and Skumpah Units respectively. Due to the strong regrowth response to early defoliation, Werner and Urness stress that rest-rotation systems, where large herbivores, like elk and cattle, graze within the same area, should be managed as bispecies systems to achieve the desired forage utilization level. Grazing by elk, during the rest years of the system, can be a win-win situation by providing an even defoliation distribution, due to the dietary differences of cattle and elk.
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