Grazing

Livestock grazing is an important activity in the Jarbidge Field Office. In this Field Office, there are 93 grazing allotments that encompass approximately 188,802 Animal Unit Months (AUMs) over 1,414,383 acres.  An AUM is the amount of forage needed to sustain one cow and calf, five sheep, two burros, or one horse for one month.  However, grazing acres may change within the Jarbidge Field Office due to the 653,000-acre Murphy Complex that burned in the southern portion of the field office in July 2007.

The Jarbidge Field Office manages livestock grazing to achieve Idaho BLM’s Standards for Rangeland Health and Guidelines for Managing Livestock Grazing, which were established in 1997. These “Standards and Guidelines” provide basic ecological objectives and best management practices for administering livestock grazing on Idaho’s public lands.

Idaho BLM is currently conducting assessments of all grazing allotments to determine if Idaho's Standards for Rangeland Health are being achieved. If an assessment determines that an area is not meeting the standards for rangeland health, the field office prepares an analysis that identifies opportunities to adjust grazing management and initiates changes, where needed, to improve rangeland health.

Most fences and gates on Idaho’s rangelands are actually vital tools for managing the distribution of livestock grazing. Please help care for and share the rangelands by leaving gates either open or closed as you find them.