' maintain grassy and shrubby openings in forested 

 areas, thus improving habitat for certain species of 

 wildHfe such as wild turkey, white-tailed deer, and 

 quail. Many range improvements designed to im- 

 prove livestock grazing also improve habitat for wild- 

 life. Fences built for livestock control provide perches 

 for a variety of birds and small mammals, and are 

 frequently used to help manage hunter use. Water 

 developments, range seedings, and prescribed range 

 burns enhance the value of range for upland game 

 birds. Livestock production programs geared to min- 

 imize energy costs have resulted in considerable sav- 

 ings of water per unit of meat produced, an important 

 consideration in water-short areas of the western 

 United States.*' 



The key to wise use of the range is sound and coor- 

 dinated land management planning. Land manage- 

 ment planning is predicated on the basic premise that 

 a mutuality of private and public interests exists to 

 preserve and develop the resources of the land. Con- 

 servation of the range is an economic and political 

 issue dealing with the question of allocation of 

 resources between or among generations over longer 

 periods of time. Private owners usually adopt range 

 improvement practices in response to the expected 

 economic gain resulting from the practices. Because 

 their perceptions and interests do not extend as far as 

 do those of nations, private owners may tend to dis- 

 count the value of future range production more than 

 is consistent with the national interest. That is, the 

 public may have a greater appreciation for the con- 

 servation of the soil and vegetation today to protect 

 the potential for output in the year 2030 than do the 

 private owners with their need for current income. 

 While meat production is a primary factor in the 

 demand for range, stewardship of the range resource 

 is also a matter of vital public interest and must be 

 considered as well as the demand for meat. 



Technical Assistance 



Modification and intensification of the technical 

 assistance process can help materially in using avail- 

 able technology to achieve more effective range man- 

 agement. Range management systems make their 

 greatest contributions to the conservation and pro- 

 ductivity of range resources if they are well planned, 

 efficiently installed, and adequately maintained. 

 Strengthening the technical assistance program in all 

 three phases of range management systems will result 

 in increased forage and meat production as well as 

 maintaining range resources for future generations. 



Technical assistance appears to be especially 

 needed for forested ranges in non-Federal ownership. 

 A 1974 U.S. Department of Agriculture report recog- 

 nized, "Though the mechanism appears to be avail- 

 able, the forest-range assistance program is not as 

 fully operational as it should be."*^ Recommenda- 

 tions to improve the program include "Federal 

 agency assignments and responsibilities in range mat- 

 ters need to be more closely defined and clarified, 

 especially on State and private lands with noncom- 

 mercial forest types. State agency commitment to 

 sound grazing practices in the woodlands must be 

 generated. Funds and personnel knowledgeable about 

 proper livestock grazing in the forest types must be 

 made available to the agencies so the landowner will 

 be assured of sound technical assistance in accord- 

 ance with his needs." 



Significant opportunities for technical assistance to 

 private landowners exist, especially in the West, 

 where Federal, State-owned, and private lands are 

 intermingled, and where policies and practices ap- 

 plied on one ownership may greatly influence the 

 productivity, use, and management of lands of other 

 ownerships. The use of all appropriate educational 

 methods, including demonstration of range manage- 

 ment technology, is needed to promote reasonable 

 returns on investments of landowners. Good range- 

 land management requires cooperation among all 

 rangeland users. 



The U.S. Department of Agriculture, through its 

 research, technical assistance, and extension pro- 

 grams, works closely with the owners and managers 

 of non-Federal lands to improve the productivity and 

 profitability of their operation. As a result, significant 

 progress has been made in the appreciation of sound 

 range management on non-Federal lands. However, 

 range scientists recognize that much can still be done 

 to improve range resources by using presently avail- 

 able technology. 



Financing Range Management 

 and Range Development 



In addition to additional technical assistance, meet- 

 ing the demand for range grazing will require consid- 

 erable investment in range improvements and the 

 maintenance of a higher livestock inventory on farms 

 and ranches. Management and production costs will, 

 therefore, be higher and additional financing will be 

 needed. 



'I Ward, 1976, op. cit. 



"■^U.S. Department of Agriculture, Interagency Work Group, 

 1974, op cit. 



191 



