On 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.

On 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.

On 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.

On 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.