Managing intermountain rangelands—salt-desert shrub ranges

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Salt-desert shrub rangelands cover some 40 million acres (16 million ha) of the Intermountain West. Much of this land was misused and damaged by unsound grazing practices in pioneer times and well into the 20th century. Although productivity of the desert is low, the high quality of the range forage produced and the vastness of the area make the desert an important part of the regional resource base. Its principal value is in the annual harvest of feed by livestock. The ecosystem is fragile and easily disrupted by improper use, but under good management, deterioration can be reversed, condition can improve, and areas still in good condition can remain so under grazing use. A grazing system compatible with other values of salt-desert shrub lands is one where grazing allotments are used as winter and early spring range, with each allotment grazed as several small units, each unit to be fully and properly harvested during one short period before the animals move on to the next one. With annual rotation of season of use of units and frequent years of rest from grazing on some of them, the harvest can be taken without detriment to soil stability, wildlife and game can thrive in their natural habitat, and the esthetic quality of the desert's vast emptiness can be enjoyed.

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ELECTRONIC FILE - Ecology, ELECTRONIC FILE - Zoology (Multiple)

Generic citation: Blaisdell, J. P., and R. C. Holmgren. 1984. Managing intermountain rangelands—salt-desert shrub ranges. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report INT-163. Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. 52 pp.

SWAP (2/19/2016) citation:
Blaisdell JP, Holmgren RC. 1984. Managing lntermountain rangelands—salt-desert shrub ranges. Ogden (UT): US Forest Service, lntermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Gen Tech Rep INT-163