ARS | Publication request: LINKING RANGELAND SCIENCE TO WESTERN RANGELAND ISSUES

Submitted to: Western Society of Weed Science Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: February 29, 1996
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Rangelands are primarily a publicly owned resource in the eleven western states. There are four general categories of issues that encompass the management of these rangeland: 1) property rights, 2) equity, 3) ecological expectations, and 4) societal values. None of these issues are strictly biological, but also include cultural, political, social and economical aspects. Rangeland research programs will probably not contribute significantly to resolving the issues of property rights and equity. However, rangeland research can be extremely relevant to questions pertaining to issues of ecological expectations and societal values. Research should be identifying technologies for assessing, monitoring and remediating rangelands. These technologies need to be ecologically based with recognition of the open-system nature of these landscapes. Research should also be addressed at landscape scales. We need to understand management impacts beyond the borders of the management unit. It is also important that we plan to continue long-term studies that can be continued by the scientists that follow us.