Rangeland health assessments of grazing allotments in Dinosaur National Monument: Focused Condition Assessment
Jablonski K, Meiman P, Flora M. Rangeland health assessments of grazing allotments in Dinosaur National Monument: Focused Condition Assessment. 2021
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).
- Type
- Project
- Authors
- Jablonski, Kevin; Meiman, Paul; Flora, Miranda
- Units
- DINO
- Keywords
- FCA, Focused Condition Assessment, grazing, Natural Resource Condition Assessment, NRCA, rangeland
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Human Use | Consumptive Use | Consumptive Use