North Central

• "Range management in North America has been dominated by the narrow view that only the few plants of direct use or detriment are worth consideration." (Daubenmire)
• Reduction of numbers. The Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness had 60,000 sheep each year during the early 1900s. The area now has essentially no cattle or sheep. Currently, the only allotments are issued for pack stock. Sheep grazing has been essentially eliminated.
• "[C]attle and horses will not graze over land that has been grazed heavily by sheep" (Fries).
• "The grazing of sheep in such a region as this is much to be deplored." (Gorman).
• Creation of National Forest Reserves was "a blessing" (Fries). Sheep were to graze only high elevations; cost to sheepmen and cattlemen was to be "very low"; improvements to rangelands were originally enforced by permittees who pressured Forest Service to withhold permit issuance until improved; monthly meetings were held with Forest Service experts.
• Range science has brought better understanding of range ecology including rotational and seasonal grazing; fencing of headwater seeps; use of barbless wire, etc.

Improvements Still Needed

• Transparency and better tracking of documentation is needed. Government agencies need to be more open and keep the public informed, and take advantage of the web.
• Coordinated Range Management Plans (CRMPs) should be implemented and agreed to by both manager and the permittee, as well as being available to the public.
• There is a need for science-based range management as well as more use of ecosystem management.
• There is an increasing loss of local "cowboy" culture that could advise managers on long-term range management.
• More research is needed in shrub-steppe ecosystems.
• Range management on some WDFW lands is occurring where the primary economic driver is from hunting permits.
• Range managers are sometimes underfunded for requested projects. Funding from legislative orders can become misdirected or sidelined by politics.
• Salt placement locations should be included in the CRMP. Salt placement is a tool that should be addressed in management plans.
• Assessment of range fees by AUM should factor in the weight of cattle, as impacts to soils correlate more with animal weight than number of head.
• Protection of sensitive areas has improved, but some areas still need be excluded from grazing.
• Range riders should be encouraged that will keep cattle moving. Livestock grazing is a type of management that requires more than passive attention to the herd.
• Fire suppression continues reduce to reduce the extent of grasslands, crowding cattle into smaller areas.