Can targeted livestock grazing be used to

strategically reduce fine fuels at a

landscape scale?

Presentation Topics
o

Background on Targeted Grazing & Fuels

Reduction

2007 Murphy Complex Wildfire/USGS Report

a

Applications Relative to SO 3336

Targeted Grazing/Fuels Resources

www.greatbasinfirescience.org

Secretarial Order 3336 The Great Basin Fire Science Exchangewill be

expanded to serve as the primary delivery system for science information
for the management and science community.

Targeted Grazing = The application of a

specific kind of livestock at a determined

season, duration, and intensity to
accomplish defined vegetation or
landscape goals.

http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/rx-grazing/Handbook.htm

Leafy Spurge

Cheatgrass Control To Reduce Wildfires

Its bad when you got to much grass

and a fire starts

Graze it or Blaze it!

Cheatgrass Control With

Livestock
Whats your primary management objective?

Fuels Reduction or Improving Rangeland Condition

Cheatgrass Grazing to
Improve Rangeland Condition
Green and Brown
strategy: graze when
invasive annual grasses are
green and desired species
are brown.
Reduce cheatgrass
competition to promote
native plant recovery

Dormant Season Cheatgrass Grazing

Dormant Season
Cheatgrass
Grazing

Effects of Early Spring/Dormant

Season Grazing on Fuels

Dormant season
grazing can reduce
residual biomass
Spring cheatgrass
growth can
significantly increase
fuel loads after
dormant season
grazing--

Cheatgrass production in:

Wet year--3,461 lbs/ac
Dry year-- 361 lbs/ac

Hull and Pehanec (1947)

(Strand et al. 2016)

Fire Managers require fuels

management objectives be met
at beginning of fire season!

Can targeted livestock grazing be used

to strategically reduce fine fuels at a
landscape scale?

Targeted Livestock Grazing Variables

Class of Livestock
Season of Use
Numbers & Duration of Use
Distribution
Combinations

Can targeted livestock grazing be used to

strategically reduce fine fuels at a
landscape scale?
Dominated by Invasive Annual Grasses

Crested Wheatgrass Seedings

Can targeted livestock grazing be used to

strategically reduce fine fuels at a landscape scale?
Hypothetical Example

Strategic targeted
grazing is meeting fuels
management objectives
prior to the fire season
in interconnected
bands or zones within
and across management
units (e.g., landscape
scale)

Great Basin Mega-fires (>250,000 acres) 2006-2015

Extreme fire weather conditions!

Mega-fires-------3.7 million acres (27%)

All other fires10.1 million acres

Murphy Complex Wildfire-2007

Scale of fuels management treatments, including

targeted grazing, has to be commensurate with the
scale of current and future wildfires!

Murphy Complex Fire

Total acreage
burned was
653,000 acres:
Idaho:
483,000
(largest fire in
ID history
since 1910.
Nevada:
170,000
acres.

July 16- August 2, 2007

Task Group and Report

www.greatbasinfirescience.org

Karen Launchbaugh, University of Idaho;

Bob Brammer, Idaho Department of Lands;
Matthew L. Brooks, U.S. Geological Survey;
Stephen Bunting, University of Idaho;
Patrick Clark, Agricultural Research Service;
Jay Davison, University of Nevada;
Mark Fleming, Idaho Department of Fish and Game;
Ron Kay, Idaho State Department of Agriculture;
Mike Pellant, Bureau of Land Management;
David A. Pyke, U.S. Geological Survey;
Bruce Wylie, contractor to U.S. Geological Survey

Three Scientific Approaches

Fire modeling (Behave) to evaluate fuels

management by livestock effects on fire
behavior.
Relationship between vegetation type
(seeding & sagebrush) and burn severity
i.e. fuel consumed.
Examination of fire line discontinuities
within the burn and determination of
cause.

Fire Modeling Key Points

Grazing can reduce herbaceous biomass

and flame length/rate of spread.
As sagebrush abundance increases, the
value of herbaceous removal decreases.

Carry-over fuels can contribute to the

fuel loads the following year.

Murphy Complex Fire: Burn Severity

Crested Wheatgrass

Big Sagebrush

Fire Line Discontinuities

Grazed Spring
Before Fire

Not Grazed
Before Fire
Fire Line
Discontinuities

Not Grazed
Before Fire

Grazed Spring
Before Fire

Fire Line Discontinuities

Five Pastures-all sagebrush dominated

Fire Line Discontinuities

East Poison Butte
Seeding:
4 ac/AUM stocking
rate

Pertinent Recommendations
develop a pilot project for a

landscape-sized area. devise a plan for

strategically placing grazed blocks or
pastures across a landscape to create
fuel-reduction bands to influence fire
behavior and facilitate fire management.

Pertinent Recommendations
supports the publication of a
general technical report that. would
provide a platform to create targeted
grazing strategies, consider possible
changes to existing grazing plans,
and evaluate livestock grazing effects
on recent and future wildfires.

www.greatbasinfirescience.org

1.Desired Outcomes of Targeted

Grazing Strategy
2.Livestock Effects on Fuels

3.Implementation Area for Targeted

Grazing
4.Targeted Grazing Strategies by
Major Great Basin Biomes and Plant
Communities
5.Livestock Grazing Administration
6.Funding Opportunities to Implement
Targeted Grazing Program
7.Environmental Analysis and
Clearances
8.Planning
9.Integration into Fire Suppression
Activities
10. Monitoring and Evaluation

Targeted Grazing Strategies by Major

Great Basin Biomes:
Sagebrush Steppe

Salt Desert Shrub

Annual Grassland
Perennial Grasslands (Introduced and
Native)

Targeted Grazing in Sagebrush Steppe

Avoid treatments &
targeted grazing in
high quality sagebrush
steppe/biological crust

Cheatgrass

Be strategic in
sagebrush habitat.

Targeted Grazing in Crested Wheatgrass Seedings

Timing and level of use is
critical to successfully
implementing targeted
grazing in seedings.

Targeted Grazing in Crested Wheatgrass Seedings

Grazing reduces fuel
loads of perennial and
interspace annual grasses

Overgrazing crested
wheatgrass exposes soil
and opens up the seeding
to undesirable plants

Targeted Grazing in Cheatgrass Dominated Areas

Spring grazing is most
effective time to reduce
cheatgrass fuel loads at
the start of the wildfire
season.
Winter grazing can reduce
residual fuels from the
previous growing season
Grazing should be timed to reduce
impacts to perennial species.

Carefully Consider & Monitor for Unintended

Consequences
Unacceptable Erosion

Introduction of New Weeds

Compaction layer

Increase in Undesirable Species -rabbitbrush

Horse Pasture Near Boise- Unintended

Consequences

Integrate Targeted Grazing with Other

Fuels Management Techniques
Treated

Untreated

Summary

State and Transition Model for Warm and Dry Wyoming Big Sagebrush

Sagebrush
Perennial grass

Perennial grass
Sagebrush

Fire

Time

Reference state
T1

T1

Sagebrush/Perennial grass
Annual invasives

Sagebrush/Annual invasives
Perennial grass
T1 and/or T2

R2

Invaded state

Focus area for

targeted grazing
to reduce fine
fuels

T2

R1
Predominately Annual Invasives
Perennial grass rare

Native and/or introduced Species

R1

Seeded state

Annual state

Conclusion
To reduce fine fuels on large
areas of rangelands you must
strategically repeat
appropriate grazing practices
over a multi-year period over a
diverse landscape under widely
different climatic conditions.

Targeted livestock grazing may be part of the solution to

reducing landscape level wildfires ----What do you think?