The Nation's Range Resources: A Forest-Range Environmental Study

Abstract

A systems study was designed to explore the current (1970) and prospective production of resources and role of grazing on all forest and range ecosystems the forest-range of the 48 conterminous United States. This report presents the concepts and procedures developed, assembled information, and policy alternatives evaluated.

All the 1.2 billion acres determined to be forest range was categorized into 34 major ecosystems. Using ownership, productivity, and condition, each ecosystem was divided into resource units. Current (1970) production of animal unit months (AUM's) of grazing and of 21 associated resource outputs was estimated for each of 956 resource units. Six management strategies were developed for each resource unit. Each strategy consisted of a package of conventional range management practices that were believed necessary to attain the objective of the strategy. Costs for each strategy were derived for each resource unit. Then, each management strategy was applied by simulation to each resource unit, and production of all 22 resource outputs was estimated. Demand for forest-range grazing was determined and estimates of other demands on the environment were assembled from other studies.

An analytical system was developed and made operational that relates demands to available resources assessment of demands, but also measurement of resource productive capacity and trade-offs between outputs. It contains accounting systems to handle the mass of resource and cost data and a linear programming code capable of accepting a variety of external constraints.

By using the assembled information and the analytical system, many alternatives were constructed and evaluated for producing animal unit months of forest-range grazing at minimum cost for different target levels under selected political, social, environmental, and economic constraints. Selected alternatives are presented.

It is generally concluded that forest-range grazing will continue to provide a share of total national needs for livestock feed. While the forest-range resource has additional grazing potential in some areas, in other areas it is overdeveloped or is being improperly grazed. Thus, investment costs to produce an animal unit month of grazing vary greatly, and much inefficiency exists in the allocation of land to forest-range grazing. Since most of the forest-range environment is not Federally owned, where this study found considerable exploitative grazing, the major grazing impacts on environmental quality will depend upon how non-Federally owned forest-range is managed. Management programs, however, can be developed that will result in determining the mix of inputs required to achieve a desired mix of outputs. The system not only permits in more efficient use of the forest-range for grazing and will also enhance environmental quality.

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