Rangelands, Volume 36 (2014)
ABOUT THE COLLECTIONS
Welcome to the Rangelands archives. The archives provide public access, in a "rolling window" agreement with the Society for Range Management, to Rangelands (1979-present) from v.1 up to two years from the present year.
The most recent issues of Rangelands are available with membership in the Society for Range Management (SRM). Membership in SRM is a means to access current information and dialogue on rangeland management.
Your institution may also have access to current issues through library or institutional subscriptions.
ISSN: 0190-0528
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Twenty Years After the Dude Fire: Targeted Cattle Grazing of Weeping Lovegrass Through the Use of Protein SupplementationOn the Ground • The 1990 Dude Fire on the Mogollon Rim in Arizona and the following restoration resulted in an invasion of weeping lovegrass. • Ecosystem restoration required successful collaboration between federal, state, and private individuals. • We used protein supplementation to redistribute grazing pressure on the rangeland and to increase use of nutrient-poor old-growth weeping lovegrass forage. • We observed that cattle hoof action worked in concert with targeted grazing to achieve the desired effect on weeping lovegrass. After 2 years of targeted grazing, we saw a short-term reduction in weeping lovegrass and increased competitive opportunities for native vegetation.
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A Systems Thinking Approach to Ranching: Finding Leverage to Mitigate DroughtOn the Ground • Drought is an adaptive challenge where management strategies and practices that work today might not work tomorrow. Adaptive challenges facing management may require thinking systemically to determine leverage points. • Systems thinking can be an effective way to see the big picture, deal with complex situations, and create effective long-term management alternatives for the ranch. • Successful management alternatives will provide flexibility to protect the core business (i.e., cow herd), be enterprise-diverse to spread risk, and allow management for the good of the whole, not simplyto maximize the pieces. • It is important to evaluate your own ranching system to identify the appropriate enterprises or practices, there is no best mix.
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Indicators of Browsing Pressure Suggest Constraints on Riparian Willows: A Case Study From the Bighorn National Forest, WyomingOn the Ground • We completed a landscape-scale assessment of ungulate browsing pressure on the southeastern portion of the Bighorn National Forest and found evidence of constraints on willow morphology and height. • To better understand these apparent constraints over time and to enable adaptive habitat management, we propose development of a willow monitoring scheme based on an experimental design that controls for site potential and isolates the contributions of individual ungulate species to total willow browse. • Further investigating the current status of riparian willows in terms of population vital rates and future distribution trends could be particularly important to help determine the cause of a recent decline in beaver abundance.
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Calculating Foraging Area Using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) TechnologyOn the Ground • Optimum forage utilization on animal-dominated landscapes can only occur when stocking rate (SR) and stocking density (SD) are considered and managed simultaneously. • Landscapes with foraging animals contain vegetation ranging from unused to over-used even under a proper SR. • The global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology has catapulted our understanding of spatial–temporal management of free-ranging livestock into a 24/7 opportunity. • Location-specific data will improve management of stocked landscapes, both ecologically and economically. • GNSS data from instrumented animals provides an opportunity to understand when and where a landscape is used to improve animal distribution. • A proper SR and management of animal distribution (i.e., SD) will facilitate adaptive management of animal dominated landscapes.
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View Point: Energy and Rangelands: A PerspectiveOn the Ground • Depletion of conventional oil and natural gas reserves coupled to rising world demand for fossil fuels will have major impacts on US rangelands and ranches over the next 30 years. • Shale oil and gas are unconventional fossil fuels now being aggressively developed on US rangelands. Their development involves a larger physical footprint in terms of roads, drill pads, mining pits, and water disposal ponds than conventional oil and gas development, but their development techniques are improving in terms of extraction efficiency and reduction of adverse environmental impacts. Groundwater contamination is the biggest potential threat to ranchers from shale oil and gas development. • US ranchers will likely experience continued rising prices for their livestock due to world farmland loss, increased human population, and rising affluency in Asian countries, but their production costs will also rise due to higher energy costs. Implementing management practices involving risk aversion and minimization of fossil fuel use will be important for their future success. • Basic principles of range management such as control of grazing intensity, grazing timing, animal distribution, and mix of animal species can be modified for management of energy developments on rangelands.
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HighlightsSociety for Range Management, 2014-12-01
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Wyoming’s Aging Agricultural Landscape: Demographic Trends Among Farm and Ranch Operators, 1920–2007On the Ground • Across the United States, farmers and ranchers are getting older, and fewer young operators are entering the agricultural workforce than in the past. • We statistically and cartographically explored demographic trends among farm and ranch operators in Wyoming to see if and how the agricultural community was aging. • Census records indicate that Wyoming’s agricultural community is in fact aging, and that the relative proportions of younger operators are dwindling rapidly. • With a changing local agricultural community, we face risks associated with loss of local knowledge, loss of tradition, and loss of investment that stem from a deep-rooted sense of place. • We face a fundamental challenge in inspiring young agriculturalists to take up residence in the state to help replace those of retirement age. • This might be accomplished through shifts in education, public policy, economic incentives, or through targeted cultivation of personal connections to the land.
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History of Rangeland Management in CaliforniaOn the Ground • Spanish colonists brought cattle to California when they landed in San Diego in 1769, with two hundred head of cattle arriving by overland routes. • Mexico, achieving independence, established rules to petition for land grants in California, paving the way for additional settlers by making land grants easier to obtain. • The Gold Rush resulted in cattle numbers quadrupling and sheep numbers increasing more than 60-fold between 1850 and 1860. • Multiple uses, such as agriculture crop production, impacted California rangelands. • Public policies now influence management of approximately 38 million acres of privately and publicly owned rangelands.
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History of University of California Rangeland Extension, Research, and TeachingOn the Ground • The Agricultural Extension Service at the University of California (UC) was established in Humboldt County in 1913 preceding the nationwide establishment of the extension service in 1914. • Improving rangelands by controlling weeds and brush, seeding, fertilization, and grazing management has been a continuing theme of research by UC since the late 1800s. • Restoration of annual-dominated grasslands with native perennials has been a recurring research theme that continues to challenge grassland researchers. • The complexity of research questions and education programs increased when environmental issues including grazing effects on riparian areas, oak regeneration, wildlife habitat, and water quality began to influence range research and extension programs in the 1980s. • A more diversified range extension audience evolved with the increase in small farms and ranches and diversification of agency staff in response to affirmative action.
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Performance Advantage of Wintering Cattle in California’s Sacramento ValleyOn the Ground • In this six year study fall calving cows grazing annual grassland in the Sacramento Valley of California weaned heavier calves than their cohorts fed hay in the mountains. • The heavier weaned calves wintered on annual grasslands continued to be heavier than their cohorts wintered on hay in the mountains through the yearling phase. • Winter grazing annual grasslands was economically favorable when compared to feeding hay in the mountains. • The timing and amount of precipitation influence annual grassland forage production tremendously. There may be years when cattle fed hay in the mountains perform better than their cohorts grazing annual grassland.
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The Art and Science of Targeted Grazing—A Producer’s PerspectiveOn the Ground • Targeted grazing is an increasingly popular tool for managing vegetation over large landscapes. • While the principles of targeted grazing are scientifically based, the successful practice of targeted grazing requires site-specific knowledge of plant growth, animal nutrition and grazing behavior, ecosystem function, and public relations. • Targeted grazing requires significant producer investment—in livestock, infrastructure and equipment, and knowledge.
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Grazing for Biodiversity in Californian Mediterranean GrasslandsOn the Ground • California’s Mediterranean climate zone supports grasslands that are biologically diverse. • Livestock grazing is being increasingly used to promote native species diversity at both the pasture and landscape scales. • Several federally and state-listed vertebrates and insects respond positively to grazing to improve habitat by opening and lowering grassland vegetation. More work is needed on enhancement of native plants. • Research results need to be more extensively applied, tested, and monitored under variable conditions.
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Cows? In California? Rangelands and Livestock in the Golden StateOn the Ground • Most of the livestock forage in California is produced in the Mediterranean climate zone, despite a long summer dry period. • There are also cold desert steppe and warm desert zones, and montane range, and both fall- and spring-calving cattle herds. • Leased land, public land, irrigated pasture, supplements, by-products, and feeds round out the annual forage calendar. • The Mediterranean zone has been termed a “critically endangered eco-region” and a “global biodiversity hot spot.” • Grazing benefits some of our rarest rangeland species and finest landscapes, and diverse interest groups are cooperating to support ranching.
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Sustaining Ecosystem Services From Private Lands in California: The Role of the LandownerOn the Ground • California landownerships are changing—becoming smaller and more amenity-driven, with important implications for ecosystem service production. • Residence on the property, larger property size, source of income from the land, having a longterm outlook, and using an advisory service are associated with landowner management for ecosystem services for the owner and for society. • Advisory services like Cooperative Extension and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, as well as private consultants and professional organizations, have an important role in the future of ecosystem service production.
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Update of the 2014 Drought on California RangelandsOn the Ground • Droughts are common on California rangelands. • The current drought in California is listed as severe or exceptional for most of the state. • The drought has affected rangeland, and the livestock industry, more than other commodities. • The actual costs associated with this drought are just beginning to be realized.