Rangeland health assessments of grazing allotments in Dinosaur National Monument: Focused condition assessment report

Jablonski, Kevin; Meiman, Paul; Flora, Miranda; Lambert, Justin; Wooten, Jesse; Melzer, Susan; Covino, Tim

doi:10.36967/nrr-2284014

The ecological condition of the rangelands of the western United States has been, and continues to be, the subject of significant controversy (Sayre 2017). Some stakeholders argue that western rangelands are in better condition than at any time since the mid-19th century, the start of a long period of generally-agreed-upon degradation. Others argue that rangelands continue to be degraded, with increasing stakeholder demands, including energy development, livestock grazing, and recreational use, counteracting improved management and increased research. Part of the reason for these opposed perspectives is that the assessment of ecological condition on rangelands—for a single location or, especially, across an entire region—is incredibly complex. Fortunately, range scientists have been grappling with this challenge for decades. The most widely adopted assessment approach that has emerged from this work is known as “Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health” (IIRH)(Pellant et al. 2018; Pyke et al. 2002). Before describing IIRH, it is first important to define some key terms. A US government interagency committee has defined rangeland health as “the degree to which the integrity of the soil, vegetation, water, and air as well as the ecological processes of the rangeland ecosystem are balanced and sustained” (NRCS 2003, p. 4–23). The committee went on to define integrity as the “maintenance of the functional attributes of a locale, including normal variability”. Assessment refers to a point-in-time evaluation of ecosystem function relative to its potential (Herrick et al. 2005). On the other hand, monitoring, which is frequently confused with assessment, refers to measurements (usually quantitative) conducted over time in order to determine trends in targeted key indicators or variables. One way to think of this distinction is that assessment is intended as a management-independent evaluation of standardized indicators, in the way that a baseball umpire might call balls and strikes. Monitoring often incorporates the lessons learned from assessment to identify key indicators that are relevant to management concerns so that adaptation can occur, as a baseball manager might use player statistics to decide whom to play to have the best chance to succeed. IIRH is a qualitative assessment protocol aimed at evaluating three fundamental attributes of rangeland health, which relate to core ecological processes in rangelands. These attributes are soil and site stability, hydrologic function, and biotic integrity. Because these attributes are difficult (if not impossible) to assess directly, a total of 17 indicators are used to assess them. Each is rated according to a five-class ordinal system, with the degree of departure from a benchmark condition characterized as none to slight (NS), slight to moderate (SM), moderate (M), moderate to extreme (ME), or extreme to total (E). The benchmark condition for a given location is known as the reference condition and is contained within the Ecological Site Description (ESD). ESDs are created by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and maintained within a central repository. Within many, but not all, ESDs is a reference sheet that contains the description of the benchmark conditions for each of the 17 indicators. These reference sheets are developed by NRCS staff familiar with the given ecological site. This report describes the use of IIRH to assess rangeland health at 44 locations within ten grazing allotments on Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah. These assessments will be used to aid in crafting individual grazing allotment management plans, identify potential focus areas for management interventions, and guide future monitoring efforts.

Rangeland health assessments of grazing allotments in Dinosaur National Monument: Focused condition assessment report

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