On the Range – Meet the People Caring for Land, Livelihoods and Livestock
Jamie Hinrichs, Pacific Southwest Region
April 5, 2024
Dani Balin has a degree in rangeland ecology and management at Utah State University. When she finished her degree in 2019, she became a rangeland management specialist on the Goosenest Ranger District of the Klamath National Forest and manager of the Butte Valley National Grassland. She’s now a Bureau of Land Management rangeland management specialist with the Klamath Falls Field Office, Lakeview District. (USDA Forest Service photo)
Spring signals the approach of range readiness for rangeland management specialists at the USDA Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. This is the time of year when these stewards of relationships, soil and fences rally to support grazing ecosystems and livestock owners.
“It's an exciting time of year,” said Garrett Noles, rangeland management specialist on the Modoc National Forest’s Doublehead Ranger District. “We've been cooped up. And now the sun's out and we know people want to turn their cattle out. So, we need to get out there to make sure the range is suitable for them to go out on time.”
As they get out on the ground, rangeland management specialists evaluate a few key items.
First, soil moisture. In especially heavy winters, the ground may be muddier longer. Waiting to start the grazing season until the ground is drier limits hooves damaging the soil. Less hoofprints while the soil is very moist equals better annual growth of plants livestock and native wildlife nibble for food.
Next up, grasses, forbs (non-woody, broad-leaf plants) and shrubs. Once plants have reached set sizes and life stages, they’re ready to be grazed. And last, rangeland management specialists identify what they call “range improvements.” This often this includes damaged fences or water troughs, which will need repair before grazing can begin.
In northeastern California, grazing livestock share space with native wildlife — deer, elk, coyotes, jackrabbits, quail and sage grouse — and native plants— like sagebrush, rabbit brush, bitterbrush, bunch grasses, juniper, ponderosa pine, and seasonal wildflowers. (USDA Forest Service photo)
“You never know what you're going to find,” said Dani Balin, Bureau of Land Management rangeland management specialist with the Klamath Falls Field Office, Lakeview District.
Due to the unknown conditions of their rough and remote office space, rangeland management specialists carry a set of tough tools for their tasks. Top items on their list — a four-wheel drive vehicle, fencing plyers, a shovel, a Pulaski (part hoe, part axe), sturdy boots, and a readiness for muddiness.
“From this time of the year till the end of the season, things are very fast paced because there's a lot of coordination with livestock owners,” Balin added.
Indeed, spring is just the launch into the busy months to come. Throughout the grazing season — typically May to October in California — rangeland management specialists monitor how much vegetation has been eaten. Once these levels approach the standard, livestock are moved to other grazing areas. If vegetation grows back later in the season, that area may again be open for grazing.
Cattle finding shade on the Carr C&H allotment in the Doublehead Ranger District, Modoc National Forest, 2015. (USDA Forest Service photo by Glenna Eckel)
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management grazing lands are designated through a process of environmental analysis and public comment. As a result, 96 million acres of Forest Service lands and 155 million acres of Bureau of Land Management lands in the United States are authorized for livestock grazing through a system of permits and allotments.
“We have sideboards on how many animals we can have on each allotment at a time and how many days they can be out there,” said Balin. “It’s a range specialist’s job is to help guide the grazing, to ensure it is appropriate for that area and to adjust the duration of grazing season each year based on conditions.”
These parameters help to avoid the risk of soil compaction and overgrazing of vegetation, which impacts livestock and native species alike.
Cultivating Relationships on the Range
Relationships with livestock producers is at the heart of a rangeland management. The exchange of concerns and observations often takes place out on the land.
Garrett Noles was introduced to public land grazing by family who grazed sheep on the Inyo National Forest. This led to a bachelor’s degree in rangeland ecology and management from the University of Nevada, Reno. After starting his career with the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada, he has been a rangeland management specialist on the Modoc National Forest’s Doublehead Ranger District for a decade. (USDA Forest Service photo)
“When it comes to the folks we serve — the permittees — they've got hopes and desires that we've got to balance,” said Noles. “That's what makes the job interesting for me, the human part.”
These relationships are especially important during a wildfire. Rangeland management specialists ensure livestock owners are updated about the fire’s location and movement.
“We're the connection between the fire team and the permittees,” said Balin. “If there's a big change in fire activity — it was going east, now it's going south … we thought these cows on this allotment were safe, but things have changed — it as our responsibility to get the word out to the permittees. So, they have time to get the cows off the range and safely back home.”
In the aftermath of a wildfire, there is more work to do. For high-severity wildfires, the soil is often laid bare, with increased risk of erosion from future rainfall. Rangeland specialists will work to stabilize the soil with mulch or straw. They may also stake rolls of straw mesh to slopes, to help the remaining seeds in naturally resprout. If the risk of invasive plants colonizing a burned area is high, they may also replant native plants such as grasses or sagebrush.
Supporting the Tradition
Many rangeland management specialists embrace their buffet of duties – botanical observations, fence repair, wildfire communications, soil stabilization, and more – with a sense of sustaining an American tradition.
“Livestock grazing on public lands in the United States is one of the greatest pieces of our heritage,” said Noles. “It's very unique. There are not many other places in the world that have this much public land available.”
Equally important is a sense of being caretakers of both livelihoods and the land.
“Grazing on rangeland is one of the oldest activities that the Forest Service has permitted,” said Balin. “A big part of being a government agency in any community is supporting that community. Our permittees are often local producers who have had a permit for their allotment for generations. It's cool to preserve that history and that this use can be done sustainably.”