History of Rangeland Management Presentation (ppt.) History of Rangeland Management In a 1940 farmer’s almanac titled “Farmers in a Changing World”, the definition of what rangelands is essentially the same as what we value it for today. There are

Eras of Rangeland Management (in United States) Native Americans Explorers & Trappers Settlers and Pioneers Open Range Homesteaders Rangeland Scientists Land Managers

Native Americans Focus on survival Heavy use of natural products Presentation (ppt.) Native Americans Focus on survival Heavy use of natural products Early agriculture Hunting/gathering Use of fire Impact on land varied Natural products – such as camas on the Palouse. Fire – evidence of fire of indigenous people throughout the west Native Americans brought horses in and the horse grazing influenced the land then and now. There are

Presentation (ppt.) Explorers & Trappers Cortez in 1515 and Coronado in 1540 – first introduced livestock to North America Lewis & Clark 1804-1806 Lands were largely unmanaged – created roads and trails, set the stage for development Steve Long expedition 1819-1820 described the western range as the “Great American Desert” Cortez and Coronado came up through the SW (Sea of Cortex). Explorers charted their way west, making maps of the land. The mapping of the Great Basin came two decades later There are

Settlers and Pioneers Homestead Act in 1862 Presentation (ppt.) Settlers and Pioneers Private ownership of land encouraged from late 1800 through early 1900 Homestead Act in 1862 160 acres “proved up” & 5 yrs residence Enlarged Homestead Act in 1909 320 acres “proved up” & 5 yrs residence Stock Raisers Homestead Act in 1916 640 for 50 cows John Wesley Powell Expedition in 1869 Realized limitations of western lands Suggested 2560 acres for each homestead John Wesley Powell was one of the first explorers to map the west. He is famous for his voyage down the Grand Canyon. He proposed land sized larger than 640 acres. What is one of the things that is needed to homestead a piece of land? WATER (to irrigate and water livestock)…that’s why many private pieces are next to springs and streams. The Homestead Act was still in effect until the 1970s in Alaska. The idea of using sweat equity to improve the West is still in place today. There are

Open Range After Civil War (1861-1865) Presentation (ppt.) Open Range After Civil War (1861-1865) Livestock production boomed Livestock sold by the “Head” not the “Pound” Railroads important for livestock sales Open Range Livestock peaked in 1880 1886 drought, low cattle prices, and several bad winters ended the “open range” livestock Cattle vs Sheep = Range Wars (1870’s) After the Civil War, cattle were sold by the head. How do you think this influenced cattle ranching? The beef was essentially a biproduct – more importantly, the hides were sold off to the leather industry (e.g. belts for industrial machinery in the east). These cows did massive degradation on the range. Now cows are sold by the pound – livestock must be in good condition to be sold. Why does the tragedy of the commons (no one owning land) lead to rangeland degradation? Land stewardship was non-existent – people just wanted to be the first to get their animals to the open range. Range wars – Why was sheep ranching considered such a nuisance? Sheepmen could get up and go, they didn’t have to stake a claim like cattle ranchers. Sheepmen were killed and millions of sheep were poisoned. There are

Homesteaders Had to “prove up” to gain claim. Presentation (ppt.) Homesteaders Had to “prove up” to gain claim. Settled around water sources. Affected land ownership patterns seen today. Looking at this land ownership map, look at the land ownership patterns across the southern half of the state. The BLM land (yellow) is largely land that is not adjacent to water. In contrast, the private land (orange) is largely located in areas that are adjacent to water sources? Why is this? Morrill Act is what created the checkerboard pattern across most of the federal lands tracts across the southern part of the state. There are

Presentation (ppt.) Rangeland Scientists Discipline of range science and management is completely “American” Morrill Act (1862) First degree in range in 1919 By 1925, 15 universities with degrees First grazing management research 1910-1915 by Arthur Sampson as Director of Great Basin Experiment Station The Morrill Act dedicated land (Sections 6 & 36 in every township) to universities as part of the “land grant” mission. Arthur Sampson was the “father” of range science. The first meeting of the range science profession was held at the University of Idaho in 1919. Currently, about 40 universities offering courses in range management. (Photo from U.S. Forest Service) There are

Birth of Land Management Presentation (ppt.) Birth of Land Management Taylor Grazing Act 1934 “.. to stop injury to the public grazing lands and provide for their orderly use, improvement, and development.” Soil Conservation Act of 1935 Birth of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) What group promoted the Taylor Grazing Act? The cattlemen. This was important to them because of the sheepmen that shared the range. The SCA was a federal act that started the Erosion Control service, which later became known as the Soil Conservation Service and is now called the Natural Resource Conservation Service These 2 acts probably had the most impact on the conservation of rangelands. There are

Improvement of Rangelands Presentation (ppt.) Improvement of Rangelands 1950-60 created great improvement in rangeland health Control over grazing Bureau Land Management -1946 Water developments Invasive plant control Reseeding Range science directed management Range science has always been an applied science – scientists do research primarily directed at the needs of land managers. Water development was a major improvement that lead to better distribution of livestock. Reseeding was done in large tracts of land in the 30s and 40s; especially crested wheatgrass. Now reseeding is an important tool in restoration. There are

Environmental Policies 1960-Now Presentation (ppt.) Environmental Policies 1960-Now Multiple Use Act 1960 Wilderness Act – 1964 National Environmental Policy Act – 1969 Federal Land Policy and Mgmt Act – 1976 Endangered Species Act – 1973 Clean Water Act – 1977 Range Improvement Act - 1978 The Multiple Use Act created legislation directed at managing for more than one resource/use The Wilderness Act was designed to protect areas from any use NEPA requires federal land managers to examine the impact of an action and involve the public Range Improvement Act set the grazing permit costs There are

Effects of European Humans Presentation (ppt.) Effects of European Humans Implemented controlled, annual grazing and heavy overgrazing. Controlled wild ungulates through hunting Exclusion and control of wildland fire Farming and planting Introduced exotic plants and animals. What did humans do that wasn’t done naturally before? Dams, transportation corridors, There are

Future of Rangeland Mgmt Presentation (ppt.) Future of Rangeland Mgmt ? What do you see as issues in the future? e.g. Real estate market driving land sales, fire and endangered species, corporate vs. family ranches (there’s half the number of family ranches that there was 20 years ago), buyouts of federal grazing permits. Changing wild fire regimes; water availability in the West; changing land uses toward more urban space – urban sprawling There are

Presentation (ppt.) Take home message Native Americans influence vegetation patterns and animal populations. European settlers have strongly altered western rangelands. Whether these changes are “good” or “bad” depends on philosophy of land management. Much damage to rangelands were created in late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The “ghost cows” – the cows of days past at the turn of the century were the ones that created the damage on rangelands. There are