Rangeland Ecology & Management

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GRAS AIMS FOR GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY IN RANCH CONSERVATION PLANNING, APPLICATION, AND MONITORING
Author
Fults, Gene A.
Carney, Tim
Stanley, Chuck
Ogles, Kevin
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2014
Body

NRCS initiated an Agency-wide effort to use a more efficient business model for delivering conservation technical & financial assistance. The Grazing Resource Analysis System (GRAS) is a component of that model. The goals are to make conservation easier for both rancher & employees; operate with streamlined business processes; and to increase focus on science-based conservation planning. Success is defined in part, by providing more technical field work time with landowners and significantly less time conducting administrative office work. This field time includes using mobile computing devices to aid field inventory, planning, implementation, and monitoring. A Client Self Service Gateway internet portal will allow much greater participation by the rancher. To implement ecological processed management on a ranch through conservation practices, ranchers need access to baseline resource measurements from historical time frames and landscape scales that are directly related to management objectives. GRAS and the Client Gateway will provide access to inventory, monitoring, and business data. It is hoped that this will make it easier for the rancher to apply their skills of ecological management. An example depicted is how a Prescribed Grazing (528) plan client can develop a custom monitoring plan through a step by step process. Choices are based on Resource Concern objectives or flexible custom criteria. The grazing records and observations made through the months of monitoring are inputted and tagged with one of those objectives. Ranchers learn objective setting, vegetation measuring protocols, and will create records for business. Hugh Hammond Bennett believed that conservation should be voluntary. Aldo Leopold believed that subsidies and propaganda may evoke the farmer's acquiescence, but only enthusiasm and affection will evoke his/her skill. The efficiency that GRAS hopes to achieve is the release of the rancher's enthusiasm and skill at getting conservation on the ground.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Orlando, FL