Suitable to the Ground
The Greater Sage-grouse and its habitat has become an increasingly important factor in how public land is managed. Little Snake Land and Livestock in Colorado has been actively managing and adapting their practices for generations. They worked with the BLM to build an Outcome-Based Grazing Authorization that provides flexibility in their grazing season so that they can time their livestock grazing to benefit habitat for both their cows and the birds.
“Now the greatest part about outcome-based grazing is the flexibility to just change year to year,” Angelo Raftopoulos said. “So if we didn’t get the moisture, now we can adapt and do something different that’s suitable to the ground. Our objective is to provide good cover for the sage grouse habitat, and how we do that with the flexibilities of outcome-based is that we can graze the dormant season grasses, and we can have a full year growth season, to obtain the cover that we need for the sage grouse.”
The Schultz and King Ranches collaborated with the Lewistown Field Office in Montana to develop their Outcome-Based Grazing Authorization. Their authorization allows them flexibility in the dates by which they turn their cattle out and pull them off individual allotments, in response to range conditions that arise throughout the season. They may also adjust their pasture rotations and timing to respond to non-native vegetation, targeting grazing on undesirable species.
“In agriculture, you’re the eternal optimists, always hoping for just a little more rain or a little cooler weather,” Nick Schultz said. “Every year the grass starts at a different time. There was one year that it was super early, and everything was blooming. On the other end of it, sometimes winter doesn’t come until the end of February.”
PH Livestock’s ranching operation spans a highly diverse region in Wyoming with different moisture regimes across many miles. These innovative ranchers are combining a long history of knowledge with use of emerging technologies to monitor their cows, fences, stock tanks, and forage. This monitoring is also written into their Outcome-Based Grazing Authorization, which enables them to respond on the fly by adjusting their grazing plan mid-season. This added flexibility has enabled them to target crested wheatgrass early in the grazing season, which provides native vegetation the rest it needs during the later growing season.
“Having that data, whatever it is, is a benefit,” Niels Hansen said. “I want to be the first to know that there’s a problem out there so I can address it.”