Rangeland Science

Rangeland Management | Colorado Rangeland & Plant Information | Invasive Species | History of Colorado Rangelands & Ranching

Rangeland Management
(Includes General Information, Drought, Fire, Grazing Ecology, and Management)

• Glossary of Range Management Terms
  From CSU Extension. These definitions were taken with some modification and condensation, and with permission, from A Glossary of Terms Used in Range Management, 2nd Edition, published by the Society for Range Management.
  
• C. Wayne Cook Papers
  C. Wayne Cook was an esteemed scientist and educator in the field of range science.
• CSU Extension Small Acreage Management
  This Web site includes information on general guides to small acreage, livestock, horses, water, soil, fire safety, human factors, and other topics.
  
  
• CSU Extension Wildlife as a Farm and Ranch Business
  Wildlife is a big business in Colorado; ranching and wildlife are an integrated business. This publication includes quick facts, ranching business, what hunters, want, leasing, and partnerships.
  Also available in .pdf
• CSU Extension Managing Small Acreage Pastures During and After Drought Fact Sheet
  This fact sheet includes these quick facts, and other information. Small acreage pastures are too small to be a significant source of feed for grazing animals, but can provide a place for brief periods of exercise. Allowing animals unlimited access to small, non-irrigated pastures can severely damage vegetation.
  Also available in .pdf
• Wildland Fire Web Resources
  Links to Colorado and regional wildfire sites from the Colorado State University Libraries Web site
  
  
• Range Fires and Fire Ecology
  Links to rangeland fire sites from the University of Nevada, Reno Rangelands Web site
  
  
• Land Use History of the Colorado Plateau (CP-LUHNA)
  This website provides an introduction to the environmental history of the Colorado Plateau. It summarizes a vast body of research from multiple disciplines in an easily accessible format.
  
• (BEHAVE - Behavioral Education for Human, Animal, Vegetation & Ecosystem Management)
  Consortium for the Application of Behavioral Principles in Management
  
  
  Colorado Rangeland & Plant Information
   
• Natural Resources Conservation Service NRCS
  Electronic Field Office Technical Guide. EFOTG includes: Section I - General References, Section II - Natural Resources Information, Section III - Conservation Management Systems, Section IV - Practice Standards and Specifications, Section V - Conservation Effects. Includes some geospatial data
  
• Plant Community Dynamics from the Arizona Rangelands Web Site
  This list includes plant community information for the Western Rangeland Area.
  
• Status and Trends of the Nation's Biological Resources: Grasslands
  Excerpt from a larger resource, this document highlights the status and trends of the main bodies of North American grasslands; the tall-grass prairie, the mixed-grass prairie, and the short-grass prairie.
• The State of the Nation's Ecosystems
  See Grasslands and Shrublands
  From the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment.
• CSU Extension Natural Resources Online Fact Sheets
  Scroll down to find the section: range
  
• USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
  The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories.
  
• Shortgrass Steppe (SGS) Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) Project
  SGS LTER is one of 24 sites in the national network of LTER sites supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Other contributors include: the ARS Great Plains Rangeland Resources Research Unit, the USFS Pawnee National Grasslands Ranger District, and the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES).
• Colorado Natural Heritage Program
  The Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) tracks and ranks Colorado's rare and imperiled species and habitats, and provides information and expertise on these topics to promote the conservation of Colorado's valuable biological resources. CNHP also offers a wide range of related services including biological monitoring, research, mapping, and conservation planning services.
  
• Natural Resource Ecology Lab
  The driving goal of NREL science is to increase the fundamental understanding of our environment, through collaborative application of ecology and ecosystem science principles which contribute to policy and management decisions promoting sustainability.
• Pawnee National Grassland
  The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland (ARNF/PNG) encompass roughly 1.5 million acres in the Rocky Mountains of high mountains, foothills and unique short grass prairie in north central Colorado
  
• USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem and Science Center
  Provides scientific understanding and technology to support sound management and conservation of forest and rangeland ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West.
  
• USDA Forest Service National Grasslands
  There are 20 publicly owned National Grasslands totaling almost four million acres. The National Grasslands are administered by the USDA Forest Service. These wind swept seas of grass and wildflowers, have witnessed the pageant of the frontier, the Dust Bowl, and Reclamation.
  

Invasive Species

• The Colorado Weed Management Association works to continually preserve and improve the natural resources of our beautiful state on public and private lands. Members of the CWMA enjoy a Colorado-wide network of people active in preserving the state's natural resources from the threat of noxious weeds
  
• Exotic and Invasive Species of the Colorado Plateau
  This site is from the Land Use History of the Colorado Plateau and includes descriptions of exotic and invasive species and additional references.
  
• Colorado Bureau of Land Management
  Non-native, invasive, and native plant information
  
• Colorado Department of Agriculture Noxious Weed Program
  The goals of the program are to prevent the introduction of new invasive plant species, eradicate species with isolated or limited populations, and contain and manage those invasive species that are well established and widespread in Colorado.
  
• Colorado Noxious Weed List
  Check with the Colorado Department of Agriculture Noxious Weed Program for the most current updates to the rules or weeds on this list.
  
• CSU Extension Fact Sheets on Invasive Species
  Scroll down to Range to find fact sheets on various topics
  

  Musk Thistle
  Range and Pasture Weed Management
  Weed Management for Small Rural Acreages
  Leafy Spruge
  Canada Thistle
  Diffuse and Spotted Knapweed
  Russian Knapweed
  Biology and Management of the Toadflaxes
  

• Invasive Species
  The gateway to Federal efforts concerning invasive species.
  
  
• Invasive Species: Western Rangeland Weeds
  Annotated database links from the Western Rangelands Database.
  
• Weed Identification
  Enter information about an unidentified weed, and compare it with photographs and text descriptions of weeds that share similar characteristics. From C-FAR, the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research, Strategic Research Initiative in Information Systems and Technology.

History of Colorado Rangelands and Ranching

• Cook, C. Wayne, and Edward F. Redente. "Development of the Ranching Industry
  in Colorado." Rangelands 15 (October 1993): 204-207.
• Land Use History of the Colorado Plateau (CP-LUHNA)
  This website provides an introduction to the environmental history of the Colorado Plateau. It summarizes a vast body of research from multiple disciplines in an easily accessible format.