The federal government issues permits to pri­vate livestock operators that allow them to use pub­lic rangelands for grazing in exchange for a small fee. Public rangelands ate also mined for minerals and energy resources, used for recreation, and pre­served for wildlife habitat and soil and water re­sources.

Worldwide, animals graze on approximately 40 percent of rangelands. The remaining rangelands have been either converted to cropland or de­graded, mostly by overgrazing, to the extent that they are no longer useful.

Intensive livestock practices in which animals are kept in small enclosures for some or all of their lives, rather than allowed to roam freely while graz­ing, are increasingly being adopted in many coun­tries. Although these practices reduce the require­ment for open spaces, rangelands are still important in the production of domesticated animals.

Rangeland Deterioration and Desertification

Grasses, the predominant vegetation of rangelands, have a fibrous root system, in which many roots form a diffuse network in the soil to anchor the plant. Plants with fibrous roots hold the soil in place quite well, thereby reducing soil erosion. If only the upper portion of the grass is eaten by ani­mals, the roots can continue to develop, allowing the plant to recover and grow to its original size.

The carrying capacity of a rangeland is the maximum number of animals the rangeland plants can sustain. When the carrying capacity of a range-land is exceeded, grasses and other plants are over­grazed; that is, so much of the plant is consumed by the grazing animals that it cannot recover, and it dies. Overgrazing results in barren, exposed soil that is susceptible to erosion.

Most of the world's rangelands lie in semiarid areas that have natural extended periods of drought. Under normal conditions, native grasses can survive a severe drought: the aboveground por­tion of the plant dies hack, but underground the extensive root system remains alive and holds the soil in place. When the rains return, the roots send forth new a hove ground growth.

When overgrazing occurs in combination with an extended period of drought, however, once-fertile rangeland can he converted Co desert. The lack of plant cover due to overgrazing allows winds to erode the soil. Even when the rains return, the land is so degraded that it cannot recover. Water erosion removes the little bit of remaining topsoil, and the sand that is left behind forms dunes. This process, which converts rangeland (or tropical dry forest) to desert, is called desertification. It ruins economically valuable land, forces out wildlife, and threatens endangered species.

Desertification is related to overpopulation. In the 1970s, a devastating drought occurred in the African Sahel, an area south of the Sahara from Senegal to Sudan. Then, from 1980 to 1986, a di­sastrous drought struck the arid lands of East Af­rica, particularly those in Ethiopia, Sudan, and Mozambique. In both cases, the people living in the affected regions suffered greatly, with many chil­dren and adults starving after their crops faded. The arid lands of Africa have always had periodic droughts, but what made these particular draughts so devastating was the tremendous number of peo­ple {and livestock) attempting to live tin the eco­logically fragile land. They overwhelmed the kind and degraded it; most of the trees were chopped down for firewood, and rangeland was severely overgrazed by livestock. Had many fewer people have been spared the horrors of starvation.

Ranchers Versus Conservationists

Conservationists have become increasingly vocal about the eco­logical damage caused by overgrazing of public rangelands and want to restrict the number of ani­mals allowed to graze. They want public rangelands to be managed primarily for wildlife habitat, recrea­tion, and scenic value rather than for privately owned livestock. Ranchers counter by pointing to the tradition and history of the American cowboy lands.

One way to decrease the livestock on public rangelands would be to increase the fee chat private operators must pay for each 454kg (l0001h) of livestock (equal to one cow or five sheep).

In 1992 the monthly fee was $1.92 per cow, a price that is considerably less than the $8 to $12 fee for each animal grazing on privately owned rangelands. Taxpayers subsidize the rancher who grazes his livestock on public rangelands by paying an estimated $6 for each animal: this money is used to maintain the rangeland and fix the damage done by the livestock. Every year or so, a proposal is made in Congress to increase the grazing fee, but ranchers are a powerful political lobby and always succeed in stopping the increase.

Rangeland Management

Over all the condition of public rangelands in the United States has slowly improved since the low point of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s.  Much of this improvement can be attributed to fewer livestock being permitted to graze the rangeland after the passage of the Taylor Graz­ing act in 1934. Better livestock management practices, such as controlling the distribution of animals on the range, as well as conservation measures have contributed to rangeland repair. But restoration has been slow and costly, and more is needed: in 1984, 42 percent of public rangelands were designated in fair condition and 18 percent in poor condition. These figures were supported by a 1988 study by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress that concluded that more than 50 percent of public rangeland was in either fair or poor condition.

Rangeland management includes seeding in places where plant cover is sparse or absent, con­structing fences to prevent overgrazing, controlling weeds, and developing wildlife habitat. Special incentives are sometimes offered to livestock operators to use public rangelands in a way that results in their overall improvement. 

Thousands of wild horses and burros roam on western public rangelands. Because they symbolize America's pioneer history, they are protected. At the same time, they must be managed so that they don't contribute to the deterioration of the range-land. To prevent their populations from exceeding the carrying capacity of their rangeland home, the Bureau of Land Management starred the Adopt-a-Horse program, in which between 5,000 and 9,000 wild horses and burros are annually removed from the range and given away.