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Range Management for New Mexico (Grant County)

Plan Goal

Ranchers,with agency involvement, will be able to monitor ranges and understand why changes in the range condition occur and take appropriate management actions if needed. Ranchers will be able to take preemptive measures in reducing poisonous plant loss.

Situation Statement

Ninety percent of New Mexico is classified as rangeland. In addition to traditional range management issues and programs, conflicts often arise between ranchers, environmentalists and land management agencies regarding goals and objectives of natural resource management. This is especially true on federal land and state trust land. Agencies (NRCS)are not going to monitor range land as intensely in the future and therefore ranchers should implement a monitoring program on their rangelands in order to have a data base of range inventory and trend. Additionally, monitoring programs will allow management decisions to be made in an informed manner. Livestock and wildlife interaction continues to be a major challenge in keeping ranges properly stocked when wildlife numbers , such as elk , continue to expand. Poisonous plants have always been a problem to New Mexico ranchers . Toxic plants inflict about $2 million loss on the state’s livestock industry annually. Direct losses are the most obvious. Indirect losses such as loss of carrying capacity, low weaning weights and reduced calf or lamb crops are less obvious but are a greater economic drain. Producers and land management personnel need to communicate more effectively and this can only be accomplished when all parties understand each other's goals and objectives for the rangelands they manage and control.

Target Audience and Actions

Ranchers will be educated and encouraged to “buy in” to a rancher initiated monitoring system. Ranchers and people interested in vegetation management will be informed as to management options for locoweed and other poisonous plants. State and federal land management agencies and sportsman groups will be the primary targets regarding livestock and wildlife interactions and the carrying capacity of rangelands.Federal and state agencies and rancher organizations will be the primary partners in developing and conducting range monitoring programs. A joint New Mexico – Arizona range management school will also be a major effort. USDA Poisonous Plant Lab scientists and NMSU Agriculture Experiment Station researchers are major partners in developing poisonous plant management options.

Short-Term Objectives

Ranchers will be able to monitor ranges and understand why changes in the range condition occur and take appropriate management actions if needed. Ranchers will be able to take preemptive measures in reducing poisonous plant losses.A rangeland management school will address goals and objectives that land users and managers have for rangelands and methodologies available for accomplishing their goals.

Medium-Term Objectives

Range monitoring manuals that cover range , riparian,soil erosion,water quality and wildlife population inventory and monitoring techniques will be distributed by the year 2010. Range monitoring schools will be conducted bi-annually starting in 2008.

Long-Term Objectives

At least one in-depth range monitoring demonstration will be presented each year. Land managers will have the opportunity to participate and 25% will gain usable management skills to cope with range problems.

Evaluation Plan

One on One interviews with participants of range monitoring schools one year after attending to determine effectiveness of the monitoring program in reducing conflict with agencies and range conditions. Assist monitoring school attendees in upgrading their monitoring procedures if desired and needed.