On past efforts at the Humboldt Ranch

The Humboldt Ranch area shown in the video encompasses three Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administered grazing allotments. Most of the focus of grazing management has been on the largest of the three, the Humboldt Allotment, because of its importance for Lahontan cutthroat trout, sage-grouse and many other species of wildlife found there. The allotment also supports wild horses and includes a herd management area.

There have been several unsuccessful attempts to develop a comprehensive management plan for the Humboldt Allotment. The first attempt was in 1988 followed by a second attempt in 2004. Although the 2004 proposed grazing decision was supported by the ranch and was focused on improving stream and riparian habitats, the plan was halted through litigation. The consequence of the appeal was a return to the relatively open-ended dates of the term grazing permit. Currently, cattle grazing is authorized on public lands within most areas of the Humboldt Allotment from March to November.

On the habitat improvement practices shown in the video

Over the years, the BLM in partnership with other state and federal agencies, mining and ranching interests and conservation organizations, has been involved in many efforts on the Humboldt Allotment to improve wildlife habitat conditions and to restore rangelands impacted by catastrophic wildfire. Projects have included reseeding of thousands of acres of burned rangelands, fuels treatments, weed control, exclosure and pasture fencing, grazing management alterations, wild horse gathers, and funding of research and monitoring studies.

Most notable of these efforts in terms of improving habitat for Lahontan cutthroat trout is the development of the 2003 Upper Willow Creek Habitat Enhancement Plan in cooperation with Humboldt Ranch and Nevada Gold Mines company as mitigation for offsite mining impacts. The Enhancement Plan encompasses 20,000 acres and 20 stream miles of mixed public and private lands in the upper reaches of the Willow Creek drainage. Traditional hot season grazing practices were changed to spring or fall grazing only by cattle alternating with a year of rest (no grazing). Predictably, removing or reducing annual hot season grazing on streams in the Upper Willow Creek drainage resulted in some of the strong recovery visible in the video. Also, temporary fire closures, ranging from one to five years between 2001 and 2012, helped jump start the process of reestablishing willow and aspen communities on many streams in the Humboldt Allotment.

On changing grazing practices

From my perspective, the most important change (starting around 2004) was going from piecemeal management in time and space to on-going management of the entire landscape including both public and private lands. By “piecemeal” management, I am referring to selected areas within the Humboldt Allotment with permanent or temporary restrictions in grazing use. In my experience, being overly conservative in one area can focus too much pressure on adjoining areas and/or reduce flexibility required for more effective management at a landscape level. Even more important, improving an entire landscape and not just selected areas, is truly what it takes to create a “lifescape” and to have a realistic chance at recovering imperiled species.

On how the Humboldt model can be applied elsewhere

I hope the video illustrates the incredible potential that exists to restore landscapes at scale just through the application of good grazing management practices. Nature is incredibly resilient if you just give her a chance. Incorporating recovery periods (time for plants to grow and/or recover from grazing) into a grazing system sets into motion a powerful chain reaction of events starting with the re-establishment of riparian communities. From there, healthy riparian areas often attract beaver, which transform gullies into wetlands by capturing and storing water and by reconnecting abandoned floodplains.

More often than not, you get beaver if you improve riparian habitat conditions. Build it and they will come! As rodents, beaver have the ability to rapidly expand populations and to quickly find and use suitable habitat. There is so much potential here in northeastern Nevada to increase beaver occupancy and to improve landscape function at a huge scale just by changing livestock grazing practices to allow for recovery of riparian vegetation.