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I. PLAN BACKGROUND
Issues and Concerns
Wildlife population diversity, density, and seasonal home range use are influenced by a number of factors. The juxtaposition of several habitat types (macro-habitat diversity) may affect wildlife populations dispersion and density more than specific terrain or vegetation features. Greater macro-habitat diversity on seasonal ranges, may translate into smaller home ranges, higher densities, and increased wildlife survival and productivity.
In the Intermountain West, lands located at higher elevation generally receive more precipitation. More precipitation results in greater vegetation growth potentials contributing to increased macro-habitat diversity. Consequently, wildlife seasonal ranges located at higher elevations would be expected to be smaller in size than lower elevation home ranges. In addition, high elevation summer ranges, exhibiting greater habitat diversity, also would be expected to support higher wildlife population densities. However, this may not be the case in many areas.
Relationship of landownership to wildlife conservation in the Intermountain West
In Utah and other western states, most public lands are located at higher elevations while the valleys and foot-hills are privately owned. This reflects early settlement patterns. Although lower elevation lands typically receive less precipitation, irrigation has allowed for the cultivation of small grains, orchards, and forage crops such as alfalfa. These agricultural crops provide alternative summer and winter forages for big game animals and other wildlife populations. Consequently many privately-owned lands constitute important wildlife seasonal ranges. For example, in Utah alone, over 60% of the critical big game winter range is privately-owned. Wildlife use of these areas can contribute to increased human-wildlife conflict if economic losses result.
Increased levels of human activity or disturbance also can affect wildlife use of an area. High levels of disturbance may cause wildlife to use smaller home ranges and establish sites in poor quality habitats. Consequently land ownership patterns and land use activities also may affect wildlife seasonal home range size and densities. If seasonal home ranges are located on publicly-owned land, animals occupying these lands may be subjected to increased levels of disturbance because of increased visitation, road access, logging activities, grazing by domestic livestock, and off-road vehicle use.
In contrast, most privately-owned lands typically have reduced levels of disturbance because public access is limited to landowners and/or their employees. If these observations are correct, we would predict, given an equivalent habitat base, wildlife use of privately-owned land may be higher than that on adjacent public lands.
Many western states also are experiencing rapid population growth, increased
development, and
high visitation rates. This increased human activity can impact wildlife.
In addition to increased
habitat loss and fragmentation, high levels of disturbance may cause wildlife
to use smaller home
ranges in poorer quality habitats.
Concomitantly,
land ownership patterns and land use activities also may affect wildlife seasonal
home range size and densities. If seasonal home ranges are located on publicly-owned
land,
animals occupying these lands may be subjected to increased levels of disturbance
because of
increased visitation, road access, logging activities, grazing by domestic
livestock, and off-road
vehicle use. In contrast, most privately-owned lands typically have reduced
levels of disturbance
because public access may be limited to landowners and/or their employees.
Livestock/wildlife interactions and species conservation on western rangelands: An increasing source of conflict
Grazing by domestic
livestock is an important land use for both public and private western
rangelands. In addition to grazing their own rangelands, many ranchers use
summer grazing
allotments on public land to supplement privately-owned forage bases and winter
ranges.
Historically, some wildlife populations, like western mule deer, have benefitted
from vegetation
composition changes resulting from intensive livestock grazing. Cattle or
sheep grazing on mule
deer summer and winter ranges have increased browse for mule deer, by reducing
grass competition on preferred browse species. Prescribed grazing could increase
mule deer and other wildlife numbers by stimulating the growth of preferred
forages and cover. In general, most studies report that light or moderately
grazed habitats tend to exhibit more plant species diversity than habitats
that are ungrazed.
Additional studies report that domestic livestock seasonal grazing of western rangelands is detrimental to wildlife species. Consequently, some private conservation groups contend that domestic livestock grazing should be eliminated on public land because of its impacts on wildlife and their habitat. They contend that continued heavy grazing may reduce cover and food availability forcing many wildlife species to utilize less preferred habitats. Additionally, predation rates on wildlife may increase under heavy grazing regimes. Some groups also contend that grazing allotments on public land constitute unfair federal subsidies.
Although most western
rangelands are on publicly-owned land, private lands that are based on topographical
location alone, continue to constitute important seasonal habitats for wildlife.
Subsequently, many private landowners, largely because of increasing wildlife
depredation, feel that it is they who are subsidizing public wildlife by providing
critical habitat on private land. Given the documented importance of private
land to western wildlife management, the loss of private land managers and
the subsequent conversion of these lands to other uses such as urban developments
will greatly impact wildlife-related recreation, wildlife populations and
their management. In the case of highly mobile or migratory wildlife who use
both public and private
land as seasonal ranges, successful resolution of this debate will have long-term
wildlife management and conservation implications.
Additional, many private lands in the western United State provide habitat crucial for endangered or threatened species. Proactive approaches are needed to balance society's interest in species conservation with economic sustainability of local communities.
Community-based conservation approaches to better manage human-wildlife conflicts
To adequately address challenges facing western rangelands, public and private land managers and local communities must strive to make more and better use of the scientific method in developing, implementing, and monitoring activities or actions designed to enhance these resources for the benefit of human and wildlife populations. Previous wildlife research and management efforts have tended to rely heavily on observational data to recognize patterns and relationships and failed to involve the local affected communities in this process. Unfortunately, these approaches have not led to a satisfactory accumulation of reliable knowledge, let alone verified the results of management actions. In cases where biologists and managers have accumulated good data, they frequently have been unable to articulate information to local policy makers and the affected communities. In effect too many resource agencies have become "data rich, information poor, and communication illiterate."
This dilemma can
be addressed through the increased use of science in research, management,
extension, and policy making. Steps in this approach include increased collaboration
by all stakeholders, to include the affected communities, in the collection
and assimilation of observations, the development of specific hypotheses and
testable predictions about these observations, and the design, implementation,
and evaluation of suitable experiments to validate or refute the predictions.
These approaches can be used to test predictions about the effects of habitat
improvements, communication efforts, or other management actions on wildlife
populations and the local community.
This approach acknowledges the uncertainty about ecological relationships and economic conditions and emphasizes that it is essential for private and public land managers and the local communities to develop a willingness to learn in a coordinated, organized fashion. There are several terms that have been used to describe this approach. They include but are not limited to: Enlibra, Coordinated Resource Management, Adaptive Resource Management, Collaborative Learning, Sportsmen and Ranchers Summit, and Seeking Common Ground. Regardless of the terminology used, each approach embraces a process under which public and private land managers learn about the systems they are attempting to manage, while they are managing them. Public and private land managers must be cognizant of the importance of using baseline information about population dynamics and habitat use to prioritize and develop site specific management experiments. Then they must be willing to monitor and evaluate how the system responds to the management. This system feedback is essential to update and modify management actions. These approaches serve to reduce the uncertainty regarding future management. In this way, learning also becomes an objective of the process. Through these community-based conservation approaches, learning and reducing management uncertainty are valued to the extent in which they contribute to achieving the systems' desired future conditions and contribute to the economic stability of the local community. The solution derived must be based in science, but also offer the affected communities new management options or alternatives that address economic considerations.
II. PLAN DEVELOPMENT
IWARM's mission
"IWARM's mission is to identify, implement, and evaluate conservation
strategies, management actions, communication programs, and habitat manipulations
to benefit wildlife populations, increase public and private wildlife managers
appreciation of resource management partnerships, enhance the agricultural
profitability of private landowners, and sustain public wildlife-related recreational
uses. Implementation of IWARM also will contribute to sustaining the economic
viability of western communities, generate additional revenues, enhance state
and federal wildlife agency creditability with western policy makers, stakeholders,
and landowners, and assist in the recovery of or prevent the listing of endangered
species."
IWARM Policy and relationship to Wildlife Information Network (WIN)
IWARM addresses WIN objectives by emphasizing the importance of using sound communication and management experiments (i.e., baseline population data, adequate controls and replication of planned management actions, human dimensions research) to gauge the effectiveness of various communication and management actions on resolving human-wildlife conflicts..
IWARM Goals
The goal IWARM is to assist decision makers and resource managers learn more about human, western rangeland, and wildlife system ecological relationships while contributing directly to management and policy efforts designed to benefit wildlife and human populations. IWARM offers the practical advantage of policy makers, landowners, and researchers working together with managers to manipulate systems at sufficient scales, with adequate replication and statistical power, to yield reliable results. Policy makers, agency administrators, wildlife managers, and wildlife resource users will benefit from IWARM because it will lead to decisions that are optimal with respect to resource user management objectives. IWARM will work to blur the management boundaries between western management agencies through implementation of a synergistic research, extension, education, and management process that focuses on achieving sustainable use of western rangelands.
IWARM Objectives
IWARM will seek to form and empower a coalition of Utah public and private western land managers and policy makers to implement a formal process for discussing and implementing research, extension, and management actions to resolve Intermountain rangeland/wildlife management issues. This coalition will be chaired by the Utah State University Quinney Professorship for Wildlife Conflict Management under the auspices of the Utah Chapter of the Wildlife Society and TWS. Specifically, The IWARM will seek to:
1. Identify sources of resource management conflict (actual vs perceived) regarding the management of western rangelands and wildlife
2. Identify specific information and education needs to address the conflicts
3. Identify specific research questions and management activities that need to be accomplished to address the western rangeland conflicts
4.Develop and implement a information network to disseminate and lead to application of the results obtained from sound scientific management experiments conducted on grazing and wildlife interactions and species conservation on private lands.
