Approximately 80% of land in the western United States is classified as rangeland and much of these lands also fall into “arid†or “semi-arid†classifications. Accordingly, range management and water resource management go hand-in-hand. Water conservation can directly and positively impact range condition. Watersheds provide a natural template upon which to explore basic hydrologic function and the connections between terrestrial and riparian landscape features.
Rangeland management can be enhanced through an understanding of watershed function and its relationship to rangeland condition at the scale of a watershed down to the scale of a ranch. The focus of this learning module will be to provide a tool for educating landowners and managers on rangeland watersheds and their function, how management actions influence water availability in the landscape, and how landowners can contribute to watershed protection. Users who complete this module should then have tools to improve water management in their range operations.
source: introduction
Articles, citations, reports, websites, and multimedia resources focused on rangeland ecology, management, restoration, and other issues on American rangelands.