American Range Lands and Forests

Part 1
Rangeland Location Brief History of Rangeland What are current land management problems? What are the current federal land management strategies that address these problems? What is one sustainable effort that should be implemented?

American Rangeland Arizona Arizona historical records show that the southeastern part of Arizona is the oldest rangeland in the state of Arizona. It was already a grassland by 1800. However, today, little remains to prove that the region was once grassland. The rangeland is now predominantly covered by shrubby plants. Most of the changes occurred between 1800 and 1900 due to overgrazing of the grasslands and little time for regrowth of the rich plantation and vegetation that once covered the region. Other factors that contributed to the elimination of the rich vegetation include flooding, plowing the floodplains, and channelization that resulted from the flooding. The Arizona state faces a myriad of complex problems regarding the management of the rangelands in all of its counties. The complexity of the problems is due to the changing times and conditions, making solutions that seem viable at a given time not viable in another period. Pressure from conservation groups, efforts to conserve some endangered species, water quality as well as modernization are just some other actors that have contributed to the complexity of the situation. The government and the local authorities do have some authority over the management of the rangelands. However, private individuals and corporations own more than half of the rangelands.

The federal government is in charge of about 43% of the rangelands while the state and local governments managing the rest. This simply means making laws and managing the rangelands a complex process that has to be agreed between various players. The private players are unlikely to be pushed around, especially because the land in which they inhabit is privately owned. The conservation lobbyists can do little about the private rangelands. Needless say, these private developers and owners have a lot of influence in the government. The forest service in the United States is in charge of the management of rangelands. The Forest Service ensures that the rangeland vegetation is kept in the most viable condition. Their efforts are focused on managing the vegetation resources in order to serve several ecological needs The Forest Service has specialists that work the provision of habitats. The Provision of habitats is done on such things as plants, various animal species, sustainable grazing, clean water as well as browsing. Some of their activities include inventory, classification, and the monitoring of the rangeland conditions. These activities are meant to improve the health of the rangeland. They are in charge of the identification process of unhealthy and healthy rangelands. After identifying an unhealthy rangeland, they focus their efforts on restoring the ecosystem functions. Managing the rangelands includes a host of other players. These include both public and private players. The Overgrazing Act that was developed in the 1930s. The Act was meant to address the overgrazing problem in the rangeland throughout United States.
The increasing number of livestock and grazing activities in the rangelands in the 1800s led to the law against overgrazing. The Act was aimed at reducing the livestock in the rangelands and the grazing activities to be put in check.
This action single-handedly led to the turnaround on rangelands that has been witnessed since the 1930s to this day. The Rangelands are obviously in a better shape that they were in the 1930s.
Conservationists have raised issues with the Act over time but the results are obvious and the benefits of the Act can be argued upon.
The efforts by the government in implementing this Act should continue into the foreseeable future even though the conservationists have a different opinion on the Act.
However, the implementation of this Act should keep in mind that times have changed and other factors need to be incorporated. Simply put, a slight review of the Act should be done.
Part 2: Sustainability Plan.
Action Plan
Action Items
(In order) Action Steps Timeline
Research and Identify the strategies already in place in the management of rangelands in the state of Arizona Review websites and journals on rangeland and forest management in the United States
Document the strategies, both past and present, that have been used to manage rangelands
Document the challenges each of the strategies has faced since it was conceived o the time its was actually implemented 1-2weeks
Obtain opinions from lobbyists and conservationists on the issue of rangeland management Review news article and journals on environmental lobbyists in United States, and in the State of Arizona in particular
Document the issues raised by the lobbyists in their fight to protect the environment against degradation and pollution
Identify and document how these issues have changed over time
Identify and document the challenges the lobbyists have faced, both personally and collectively Week 1- week2
Interview private rangeland owners as well as invested private corporations Schedule interviews with some private land owners in the state of Arizona to obtain heir opinion on the developments on the rangeland management both locally and nationally
Obtain the opinion and information from the private landowners and private corporations on their influence on local politics and how it has shaped he management of rangelands over the years Week3-week7
Interview officers of the state and federal governments in charge of rangeland management in the United States and in the State of Arizona in particular Schedule interviews with officers from the Forest service mandated with the management of rangelands in the state of Arizona and possibly nationally.
Obtain information on how their management efforts have been undertaken and the successes they have achieved so far
Obtain information on the challenges the officers have faced and the resistance fro the private landowners in the state Week3-week7
Identify the strategies that have been efficient and one that may be effective in the current times Analyze the strategies that have been used in the past and those that are used presently
Identify the challenges that have been used in the past and that are no longer in use and find the reasons why the strategies are no longer practicable
Conclude on the issue of rangeland management and give a review of how the management efforts have fared so far.
Give recommendations on the issues and strategies as well as their implementation process
Document all the information on a report that will include all the activities including research and the conclusion based on the research. Give a honest review on the success of the rangeland management, especially in the state of Arizona Week1-week7
References
Corporation for National & Community Service. (n.d.). Sample sustainability plan. In Toolkit for program sustainability, capacity building, and volunteer recruitment/management (Section 4). Retrieved from http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/filemanager/download/online/sustainability_plan.pdf.