Points to Ponder

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Readers who intend to engage livestock to manipulate landscapes should keep in mind a couple of crucial points:

1. Targeted grazing is not a one-time shot. While research and experience have proved that targeted grazing can alter landscapes, it has also shown that it takes patience. A grazing prescription may call for three to five years of repeated grazing, or it could require a continuing prescription to keep unwanted vegetation in check.
2. Before any grazing project begins, both the land manager and the grazing service provider need a shared vision of what they want the landscape to look like as the grazing prescriptions evolve. They should focus on plant succession from an unwanted state to a desirable community. What plants are wanted on the site? Will they emerge naturally or require some type of seeding? Will the grazed site become susceptible to invasion by plants that are worse than the ones removed? Just as cleared land is opened for rejuvenation with desirable plants, it is also susceptible to invasion by unwanted plants.
3. Targeted grazing is a business. Land owners and managers must recognize the value of targeted grazing to improve the appearance, function, and environmental quality of plant, land, and water resources – and be willing to compensate service providers for that value.

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