Wild Open Spaces of the West

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Wild Open Spaces of the West

• Rangeland Ecology Management
• University of Idaho
• Dr. Karen

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Wild Open Spaces of the West

• What is rangeland?
• How much rangeland?
• Who owns rangeland?
• What is rangeland good for?
• Multiple uses of rangeland
• What is range management?
• Tools of range management

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What is Rangeland?
Which of these are rangeland?

• Deserts
• Tundra
• Wetlands
• Savannas
• Shrublands
• Forests
• Grasslands

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What is Rangeland?
Which of these are rangeland?

• Deserts?
• Tundra?
• Wetlands?
• Savannas?
• Shrublands?
• Forests?
• Grasslands?
• Forage pasture?

• All deserts except barren deserts
• All tundra
• Vegetation around wetlands
• All savannas
• All shrublands
• Only open forests
• All grasslands
• Not highly managed pastures

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What is Rangeland?

• Rangeland is uncultivated land dominated by
  native plants grasses, herbaceous broad-leaved
  plants (forbs) and shrubs.
• Rangeland is all land that is not farmland, dense
  forest, barren desert or land covered by solid
  rock, concrete, or glaciers.
• Rangeland includes grasslands, shrublands,
  savannas, and open woodlands .
• Are all rangelands grazed?
• Grazing as an important ecological process in all
  rangeland, but not all rangelands are grazed by
  livestock.

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How much rangeland is there?
How much of the earths surface is rangeland?

• Forest?
• Cropland?
• Urban?
• Ice, rock barren desert?
• Rangeland?

25
10
3
15
47
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How much rangeland is there?
47 of the Earth is rangeland
36 of the US is rangeland
53 of Western States is rangeland
44 of Idaho is rangeland
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Who owns rangeland?

• In Idaho, 66 of all rangeland is Public Land.
  
• Public land is owned and managed by federal and
  state governments for the good of the public.
• In Idaho, the most important land management
  agencies are the Bureau of Land Management, the
  U.S. Forest Service, and the Idaho Department of
  Lands.
• Grazing on private lands is wholly integrated
  with public grazing lands.
• Livestock grazing occurs on 95 of BLM land
• and, 58 of U.S. Forest Service lands.
• 88 of all beef cows in Idaho graze at least part
  of each year on BLM or USFS lands.

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What is rangeland good for?
List 5 uses or services rangeland provides?

• Livestock production
• Wildlife habitat
• Water
• Minerals (oil, coal, sulfur)
• Native plant products
• Recreation
• Open space
• Western heritage

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What is rangeland good for?

• Livestock Production
• Rangeland pastureland in the 19 western states
  are home to 58 of all beef cattle in the US.
• Western rangelands also harbor 79 of sheep and
  88 of goats in the US.
• Livestock production on rangeland is very
  important to supply meat for American and World
  populations and also for leather, wool, mohair,
  and other products that livestock yield.

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What is rangeland good for?

• Livestock grazing occurs on 65 of Idahos total
  land area and in every county throughout the
  state
• Range livestock production is Idahos major
  agricultural activity in terms of land used and
  cash receipts

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What is rangeland good for?

• Wildlife Habitat
• Rangelands provide habitat for countless mammals,
  birds, amphibians, fishes, and insects.
• Of the total number of animal species found in
  the United States
• 84 of the mammals,
• 74 of the birds,
• 58 of the amphibians and
• 38 of the fishes are represented in rangeland
  ecosystems.

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Range Wildlife Include

• Ruminants are animals such as deer, elk, and
  moose that have specialized digestive systems to
  digest the cellulose abundant in the cell walls
  of rangeland plants
• Rodents and Rabbits also have digestive systems
  that allow them to get energy out of cellulose
• Concentrate-selectors are animals such as birds
  bears that find an adequate diet on rangeland by
  carefully selecting berries, seeds, or roots low
  in cellulose

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What is rangeland good for?

• Water
• The Western United States has a much drier
  climate than the Eastern U.S. ... water is
  doubly precious to the 30 of the U.S. population
  that lives in the West
• Most of the water in the streams and river of
  Idaho fell initially on rangeland or forests.
  Therefore, proper management of rangeland
  requires careful attention to the amount
  quality of water that flows off rangeland

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What is rangeland good for?

• RecreationRangelands are increasingly important
  for recreational uses such as
• Hiking
• Hunting
• Camping
• Mountain biking
• Cross-country skiing
• Snowmobiling
• Many national parks are located on rangelands

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What is rangeland good for?

• Open Space
• People in the west value open space
• Livestock ranches are becoming working
  wilderness to maintain biodiversity and wildlife
  habitat quality
• Environmentally concerned citizens have paid
  ranchers to maintain open space through scenic
  easements
• Western Heritage
• Ranching is important to maintain the Western
  Image

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Multiple Use

• Because rangelands have many important uses, most
  rangelands are managed under principles of
  multiple-use
• Several uses or values of rangeland are managed
  simultaneously with care to avoid overuse or
  destruction of natural resources.

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What is range management?

• Range Management is the careful use and
  management of rangeland resources (plants,
  animals, soil, and water) to meet the needs and
  desires of society without damaging the resource.
  
• The tricky part is that the needs and desires of
  society are continually changing.
• Livestock production has always been important
  but, greater management emphasis is now being
  placed on wildlife management, recreation,
  water production

The term that best describes range management
is INTEGRATED
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Tools of range management?
The proper use of rangeland is accomplished by
several simple tools that must be continually
monitored and adjusted.

• Fences can be placed to control how a pasture is
  grazed and provide seasons or years of rest from
  grazing
• The number of livestock can be increased or
  decreased to meet management objectives. Very
  heavy grazing may be required for some needs
  (e.g., weed control or water harvest) and light
  grazing is necessary for other purposes (e.g.,
  improved water quality or forage for elk)

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Tools of range management?

• The species of livestock to be grazed must be
  carefully selected because each species differs
  in the diet they select.
• For example, cows generally prefer grasses, goats
  consume mostly shrubs, and sheep eat mixed diets
  of grasses, browse and forbs
• And, different species of livestock also differ
  in type of terrain they use.
• For example, sheep can graze steeper slopes than
  cattle

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Tools of range management?

• Invasion of weeds on rangelands is a growing
  problem. Range managers often need to use weed
  control practices (such as fire, grazing, or
  herbicides) to reduce the growth of weeds and
  allow native plants to grow.
• Fire is a natural force in nearly all rangeland
  ecosystems. For healthy rangelands, fires are
  often carefully set and controlled (by prescribed
  burning techniques). For example, in Southern
  Idaho, fire is often used to control the spread
  of sagebrush and encourage the growth of
  productive grasses.

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What do range managers do?
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What do range managers study?
The Basics

• Soil morphology
• Plant growth development
• Plant identification
• Plant community ecology
• Animal nutrition
• Wildlife management
• Watershed management
• Riparian ecology

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What do range managers study?
The Tools

• Vegetation assessment monitoring
• Grazing management
• Fire ecology prescriptions
• Restoration techniques
• Weed control
• Geographic Information Systems

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What range classes should students interested in
range consider?

• Range 251 - Principles of range management
• Range 353 - Range plant identification ecology
• Range 532 - Natural history of rangelands
• Range 456 - Integrated rangeland management
• Range 454 - Rangeland weed management
• Range 553 - Foraging behavior of rangeland
  herbivores.