Rangelands cover over half of the earth’s surface. They are ecosystems dominated by native grasses. Rangelands are as important as rainforests because they remove and store large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere. When healthy, rangelands protect soil from erosion, filtering and catching water, which flows into streams, rivers, and lakes. Public rangelands in this country are managed to sustain a healthy, diverse, and productive landscape for the enjoyment of current and future generations.

Join GARNA, the BLM and grazing permittee Tim Canterbury to learn more about the BLM’s partnership with permittees in cattle grazing public lands. Howard resident Tim Canterbury is the former president of Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. His passion is to leave the land better than when he found it. Tim has worked extensively with monitoring vegetation including using a database where ranchers can enter information on their land plot, upload photos and provide other information. Also presenting are Jeff Williams, range management specialist for BLM and Cathy Hagen, BLM range technician. Jeff and Cathy will describing the BLM’s monitoring role and relationships with permittees.

The program will cover grazing rotation and how this changes seasonally and vegetation is monitored. The Taylor Grazing Act, created in 1934, was intended to “stop injury” to public grazing lands. Before, livestock use was unregulated. The Act established a system for managing livestock grazing based on what the land can support. The BLM was formed in 1946 to ensure these regulations were upheld. Today, range conservationists monitor range health and manage for multiple uses using current standards, guidelines, and regulations. The BLM manages 250 million acres (170 million acres of which are rangeland) with livestock grazing 155 million acres (7.8 million acres in Colorado alone).

If you would like to join us for this program, please call 719-221-4711.