1. 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

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

3. 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

4. Presentation (ppt.)
Explorers & Trappers
Cortez in 1515 and Coronado in 1540 – first introduced livestock to North America
Lewis & Clark
Lands were largely unmanaged – created roads and trails, set the stage for development
Steve Long expedition 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

5. 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

6. Open Range After Civil War (1861-1865)
Presentation (ppt.)
Open Range
After Civil War ( )
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

7. 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

8. 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 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 Currently, about 40 universities offering courses in range management.
(Photo from U.S. Forest Service)
There are

9. 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

10. Improvement of Rangelands
Presentation (ppt.)
Improvement of Rangelands
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

11. 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
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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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