Rangeland faces challenges with climate change

Fighting the effects of climate change in Great Basin rangeland is drawing together federal, state and private interests to deal with what scientists say is greater weather variability causing big swings in forage available for cattle and wildlife. Biomass can triple some years or see declines just as great, experts say, and native vegetation in the region that has survived climate variations for tens of thousands of years now faces challenges from invasive species and wildfires. In the politically red state of Idaho, though, arguments over global warming are generally avoided. “Forget that, we need to mitigate and act,” said John Freemuth, a Boise State University professor and public lands expert. Of the many efforts underway, he’s leading one with a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to bring together federal, state and tribal entities to find ways to reduce the severity of rangeland wildfires. The most significant change follows an order by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell in January elevating the importance of rangeland wildfires when it comes to assigning resources. Ranchers have signed up to fight rangeland fires, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is experimenting with targeted grazing to reduce fuel and create firebreaks in some areas. But some ranchers have had to pull cattle off grazing allotments when food ran out early due to lack of moisture. In Southwest Idaho and Southeast Oregon, a giant rangeland fire last summer will keep ranchers off grazing allotments for years. “As we think about climate change, I think we do need to consider what does this mean for our ranching community and how are we going to adapt going forward,” said Janice Schneider, the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for Land and Minerals Management. “A healthy economy and healthy ecosystem are inextricably linked.”...more