Assessing impacts of alternative livestock management practices: raging debates and a role for science

Sisk, Thomas D. and Crews, Timothy E. and Eisfeldt, Ryan T. and King, Matthew and Stanley, Elaine (1999) Assessing impacts of alternative livestock management practices: raging debates and a role for science. In: Proceedings of the fourth biennial conference of research on the Colorado Plateau, September 15-18, 1997, Flagstaff, AZ.

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Abstract

Grazing of domestic livestock is the most pervasive and persistent human impact on the grasslands and shrublands of the Colorado Plateau. Impacts on ecosystem function and biological diversity arc thought to be great, but few studies have attempted to characterize such effects and compare the impacts of alternative livestock management practices. The dearth of pertinent, defensible information has contributed to the polarization of ranching and environmental interests, and has exacerbated what is one of the most contentious social issues in the southwestern USA. We discuss the role of ecological science in deriving and disseminating information that will help focus and perhaps resolve the impasse over grazing impacts and other natural resource issues. Specifically, we describe results of our involvement in "management teams" that include ranchers, environmentalists, public servants, and interested citizens, and how this collaborative process has helped shape an experimental research program that would be impossible to execute without the involvement of divergent interests in the grazing debate. Claims of various interest groups are reformulated as testable hypotheses, and a research design is presented.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Publisher’s Statement:	Published by US Geological Survey.
Additional Information:	This paper was presented at the Fourth Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado Plateau (1999) and appears in a 13 chapter book, "Proceedings of the fourth biennial conference of research on the Colorado Plateau", published by the USGS. The theme of this conference centered around research, inventory, and monitoring on lands over the Colorado Plateau, with a focus on the newly created BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The conference, held on 15-18 September 1997 in Flagstaff, Arizona, was hosted by the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center Colorado Plateau Field Station (CPFS) and Northern Arizona University.
Keywords:	Arthropods; Colorado Plateau; Biodiversity; Conflict resolution; Grazing; Vegetation studies; ERI Library
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SD Forestry
Department/Unit:	Research Centers > Ecological Restoration Institute
Date Deposited:	13 Jun 2017 18:11
URI:	http://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/2827

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