54 CIRCULAR 925, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
halogeton, or cheatgrass scattered throughout the vegetation or on a 
few localized spots; plant cover broken, and a number of dead and 
partially dead plants of the palatable species such as Indian ricegrass, 
winterfat, black sagebrush, and bud sagebrush present. 
3. Poor condition—Soil erosion active; palatable native species often 
pedestaled; plant cover thinned, numerous dead or partially dead 
plants of palatable species, numerous introduced annuals such as 
Russian-thistle, halogeton, mustards, cheatgrass, and foxtail bromes; 
species of low palatability producing about 50 percent of the herbage. 
4. Very poor condition—Soil erosion active; many of the smaller 
drainages raw and eroding with very little vegetation; numerous annu- 
als and species of low palatability producing most of the current herbage; 
most of the palatable native vegetation severely injured or destroyed. 
On the basis of extensive surveys made on the winter ranges of 
the Intermountain region from 1932 to 1936, and observations made 
on numerous enclosures scattered throughout Utah and Nevada, the 
majority of these areas were classified as being in fair to poor condition, 
with a considerable amount of range in very poor condition. Although 
some of these areas have shown improvement during the last few 
years under management, many of the ranges are still in fair to poor 
condition, producing far below their maximum capacity. 
The rate of recovery of the range varies according to subtype and 
range condition. Some subtypes within the Desert Experimental 
Range, which were classified in poor condition in 1935, improved 
enough under moderate grazing to be classed as in good condition in 
1947. Subtypes in which palatable perennial forage plants were pres- 
ent in moderate numbers, even though low in vigor, recovered rapidly. 
In 3 to 5 years, improvement in vigor of the better forage species was 
readily apparent. Many young plants and seedlings of the choice 
forage species were also present. 
Recovery of areas in poor condition where palatable plants have 
been severely injured or replaced by undesirable species is much slower, 
but improvement is generally feasible if moderate grazing and carefully 
planned management practices are adopted. The improvement of 
ranges in very poor condition requires more than the reduction of 
grazing intensities. It may be advisable to suspend grazing for vary- 
ing periods of time, depending on the degree of deterioration that 
exists. If reseeding of such areas can be done successfully, it will 
undoubtedly speed recovery. Very little, however, is yet known about 
methods and species suitable for seeding on these semiarid rangelands. 
Much further research will be necessary before seeding of winter ranges 
can be relied on to bring about widespread improvement. 
UTILIZATION STANDARDS 
Utilization records of winter grazing at the Desert Experimental 
Range indicate that Indian ricegrass, black sagebrush, and winterfat, 
all important key forage species, can remain productive and vigorous 
on ranges in fair to good condition when 75, 60, and 55 percent, 
respectively, of their current herbage is utilized. Under this moderate 
degree of utilization 25, 40, and 45 percent, respectively, of the herb- 
age is left ungrazed as protection to the plants and to insure sustained 
production of the seed and of other important forage species. 
