Range Management and Grazing

Rangelands include a diverse suite of vegetation types such as grasslands, pinyon-juniper shrublands, shrub steppe, and desert scrub. In general, rangelands are areas where the natural vegetation is comprised principally of grasses, forbs, grass-like plants, and shrubs suitable for browsing or grazing. Rangelands provide a large portion of the forage for both domestic and native ungulates while supporting a wide variety of iconic species such as sage-grouse. Rangelands contain vast amounts of organic carbon in their soils; changes in rangeland management have direct implications to changes in carbon emission. Rangelands are also part of the identity of rural western communities, providing a myriad of benefits to all Americans from spiritual renewal and recreation opportunity to clean air and water, wildlife habitat, food, and economic security. 

Rangelands prominent within the Rocky Mountain Research Station footprint include the the Sonoran desert, the Great Basin, the Colorado Plateau, and the Great Plains regions. Researchers are conducting research on maintaining and restoring rangeland ecosystems, managing threats from invasive species on rangelands, and understanding the needs of rangeland-depending wildlife species. The Rocky Mountain Research Station also develops tools and technologies to help project rangeland resource conditions against the backdrop of climate change. See the Grassland & Rangeland Science Fact Sheet for more information.

Additionally, the Rocky Mountain Research Station manages two Experimental Ranges: the Desert Experimental Range and the Great Basin Experimental Range where our scientists and partners can conduct long-term research on rangeland conditions and management. 

Featured Work

• A West-Wide Rangeland Fuel Assessment - A monthly webcast that describes current rangeland fuel conditions across the western United States. Based on a forage prediction and monitoring system (FuelCast) driven by remotely sensed weather data, webcasts provide projected fuel conditions and alerts managers to areas with emerging high fuel loads.