Extension, Utah State University

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 NR 500EXTENSIONUTAHS GRAZING LANDSSustaining a Vital ResourceSustaining a LegacyAs the 21st century nears, world atten-tion is increasingly focused on thepreservation of the environment and theintelligent management of our naturalresources.  Global trends and concernsoften are expressed through community-level policy decisions.  Citizens andpolicy makers in urban and rural commu-nities make daily decisions about the useof energy and natural resource products.Water conservation and protection arepriority issues.  Other communities mustdeal with overflowing landfills and airquality problems.Concerned farmers and ranchers, consum-ers, state and community leaders, businesspeople, and educators are increasinglymotivated by the desire to protect wildlifehabitats and open space while improvingboth wildlife and livestock productivity, toprotect our watershed,  and to addressmany other environmental questions.Did you know that about 80 percent ofUtah’s agricultural, forests, and rangelandsare publicly owned?  Thismeans that there are relatively few acresof valuable, privately owned, naturalresources.  Keeping these acres produc-tive is important because they oftencontain critical water resources andprovide critical winter range for wildlife.Education and awareness concerning  thewise use of natural resources such as ourgrazing lands is our best insurance forsustaining the production of goods andservices while protecting these resourceson which we depend.  The Grazing LandConservation Initiative (GLCI) is dedi-cated to  the development of programsthat sustain, improve, and protect Utah’sprivately owned grazing lands.C O N T E N T S1Sustaining a Legacy1What Is the GLCI?2Utah Grazing Lands2What Are the Public Benefits?3How to Support Utah GLCI Programs4Who Supports GLCI in Utah?OCTOBER 1995Utahs GrazingLand ConservationInitiativeWhat Is the GLCI?The Utah GLCI is a coalition of stateagencies, the USDA NaturalResource Conservation Service,  pro-ducer organizations, professionalsocieties, USU Extension and researchservices, and interested publics thatprovide landowners, and thus society,with a variety of benefits.  These areprovided by developing programs at thelocal level that accomplish the missionof GLCI.The mission of the Utah GLCIis to identify priority issues,then find solutions that effectpositive change on privategrazing lands.  The Coalitionwill serve as a catalyst forenhancement of grazing landresources.  It will provide abasis for coordination withunits of government, institu-tions of higher education, andprivate landowners.  It willimplement and enhancealready existing conservationprograms.Utah GrazingLandsGrazing land systems are a complex setof interactions among soil, water, air,plants, and animals.  The health of thesesystems depends upon human manage-ment decisions.  The resources that thesesystems provide are water, wildlifepopulations, wildlife habitat, mineraldeposits, forage, wood, landform,atmospheric visibility, and biologicalprocesses.The production of livestock on thesegrazing land systems is the only eco-nomic activity that maintains vast areasof the state open to other citizens fortheir activities.  These activities includephotography, hiking, birdwatching,rafting, fishing, hunting and just enjoyingthe scenic beauty of these grazing lands.Remaining competitive is the key tosustaining rural Utah and its associatedhigh quality of life.  To remain finan-cially competitive, farmers and ranchersmust continue to improve the conditionof their grazing lands.  The Utah GLCICoalition is dedicated to assisting privateproducers to maintain their competitivestatus through educational and promo-tional programs that provide the tools forUtah State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action InstitutionIssued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S.Department of Agriculture, Robert L. Gilliland, Vice President and Director, Cooperative Extension Service,Utah State University.improving grazing lands.  This is accom-plished by fulfilling the Utah GLCICoalition’s objectives.  These objectivesare:• Identify critical elements needed toimprove Utah’s grazing lands includingbest management practices to:Improve and sustain forageproduction.Improve water quality and quan-tity.Properly manage forage harvest toprotect the soil resource.• Develop a stable funding source tosupport activities of the Coalition andpromote Agriculture Resource Develop-ment Loans (ARDL) and other activitiesto improve grazing lands.• Promote a long-term researchprogram to protect basic soil and plantresources and improve forage produc-tivity and harvest.• Educate owners, managers, andthe general public concerning proper,economically viable grazing manage-ment practices.• Encourage private landowners tobecome actively involved in the UtahGLCI Coalition and its activities.What are thePublic Benefits?The Utah GLCI Coalition providesbenefits to the urban as well as the ruralpopulation of the state.  Private grazinglands managed by applying necessaryland conservation treatments, as recog-nized by this initiative, protect naturalresources of direct concern to thepublic.Water Quality and QuantityA  growing urban population representsan increasing need for clean water.Conservation of water quantity andpreservation of water quality are bothinhanced by healthy grazing lands whichprovide optimum retention of moisturein the soil profile.  Healthy grazing landsare the foundation of  watershed valuesas well as scenic qualities important tothe urban community.WildlifeMany wildlife species are dependentupon the habitat provided by privategrazing lands.  According to recentestimates, approximately two-thirds ofall wildlife in the U.S. are produced onprivate lands.  Adequate grazing re-sources on private lands throughout theyear are essential for both wildlife anddomestic livestock.  Where publiclyowned lands are a major factor, wildliferely on neighboring private grazing landsfor forage and habitat needs during manyparts of the year.  Riparian zone manage-ment relies heavily upon the propermanagement of grazing lands to sustainthese unique and importantsystems.RecreationThe Utah GLCI Coalition not onlysupports programs that provide technicalinformation and assistance to landowners wishing to improve the quality oftheir basic grazing land resources, butalso supports opportunities to help meetUtah’s growing demand for outdoorrecreation.Recreational use of grazing lands hasincreased dramatically during the past 20years.  These opportunities include suchactivities as hunting, cross-countryskiing, camping, hiking, fishing, photog-raphy, birdwatching, horseback riding,and off-road vehicle driving.  Manypeople are seeking “back to nature”experiences.Many benefits, usually at no cost, arepassed on to the recreationist and thepublic at large by landowners practicingconservation on private grazing lands.Some of these benefits are open space,scenery, and aesthetic values.  Thedemands of oururban population for highquality recreational experiences contin-ues to increase.Air QualityGrazing land’s vegetation and  soils aregreat reservoirs for organic carbon.  Thetop three feet of soil, world-wide,contains nearly double the quantity ofcarbon contained in the world’s vegeta-tion and atmosphere.  Grasses andlegumes use atmospheric carbon as planttissue building blocks.  The non-utilized and undecomposed plant tissuereturns to the soil and becomes a part ofthe soil’s stored carbon.Properly managed grazing lands helpreduce atmospheric levels of carbondioxide and may reduce the risk ofgreenhouse gas accumulation.Migrating species are especialydependent upon this relationship.Management of riparian areas reliesheavily upon the proper management andbalance between the public and privategrazing lands.  Timely technical assis-tance is crucial in meeting the resourceconcerns of the soil, water, air, plants,and animals while providing alternativesthat maintain economic and socialstabilty for livestock enterprises, as welas the supporting businesses within thecommunities.  The Utah GLCI Coalitionpromotes and supports programs toprovide this assistance.How to SupportUtah GLCI ProgramsListed on the next page are the memberorganizations of the Utah GLCI Coali-tion.  Although any of them may becontacted for more information, contact-ing your local Natural Resource Conser-vation Service Office or the Utah StateUniversity Extension Service wilfaciltate your interest.Who Supports GLCIin Utah?National Association of Conservation Districtsc/o Robert Raschke9150 West Jewell, Suite 102, Lakewood, CO 80232-6469Utah Association of Conservation Districts 10751/2North Main, Logan, UT 84321-2215U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation ServiceP.O. Box 11350, Salt Lake City 84147-0350Utah Department of Agriculture350 North Redwood Road, Salt Lake City 84116Utah State University ExtensionCollege of Natural Resources, Logan 84322-5200Utah Farm Bureau5300 South 360 West, Salt Lake City 84123-4680Utah Section of the Society for RangeManagement399 “E” Street, Helper, UT 84526Utah Cattlemen’s Association150 South 600 East, #10B, Salt Lake City, UT 84102Utah Woolgrower’s Association150 South 600 East, #10B, Salt Lake City, UT 84102Utah Farmer’s Union5284 South 320 West, #C-144, Murray, UT 84107Utah Dairymen’s Association1000 South Main, Pleasant Grove, UT 84062The Relationship Between Publicand Privately Owned GrazingLandsAbout 80 percent of Utah’s lands isowned by the public and managed by theForest Service or the Bureau of LandManagement.  The grazing permitteesthat work with these agencies in manag-ing livestock on these lands havecomplex management plans.  The successof these plans relies heavily oncooperation among the permittees, theagency managers, and others.The various agencies and the private landowners must continue to cooperate inresource planning on grazing landresources of intermingled ownership.Many wildlife species are dependentupon the habitat provided by the combi-nation of public and private lands.

Utah\u27s Grazing Lands: Sustaining a Vital Resource

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Utah\u27s Grazing Lands: Sustaining a Vital Resource

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