ELKO, Nev. (AP) — Federal land managers have designated 11 demonstration projects in six Western states in a bid to create more flexibility for grazing livestock on public range.
Bureau of Land Management official Greg Deimel told the Elko Daily Free Press the aim is to share best practices in what the agency is calling outcome-based grazing authorizations.
One example might involve letting ranchers graze cattle on young invasive cheatgrass.
The bureau announced Friday that five projects are at ranches in northern Nevada. Others are in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Wyoming.
Outcome-based grazing authorizations were announced in September 2017.
The goal is to let land managers and livestock operators respond to changing range conditions such as wildfires, high moisture years or drought to weigh economics and ecology with wildlife habitat.