The objective of most grazing management programs is to make optimum 

 use of forage resources while maintaining or improving these resources. It is 

 clear, based on the data, that many acres have not been managed in a man- 

 ner that would achieve this objective. 



Land managers can improve overgrazed areas by simply reducing the 

 amount of time livestock graze an area or by reducing the amount of live- 

 stock. Land managers can also maintain or improve the grazing resource and 

 optimize use through more aggressive management techniques that may include 

 some or all of the following items: salting, herding (rotation grazing), 

 fencing, increasing the number of trails, increasing water developments, and 

 reducing slash, logging debris, and other mechanical barriers. Another 

 obvious tactic that may conflict with timber objectives is to maintain lower 

 crown densities or less canopy cover in those forest stands that are being 

 grazed. This could be done by thinning precommercial material or by har- 

 vesting some commercial timber while still maintaining a crop of trees for 

 future harvest. 



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