APPENDIX 8

APPENDIX 8

STANDARDS FOR HEALTHY RANGELANDS

AND

GUIDELINES FOR

LIVESTOCK GRAZING MANAGEMENT

FOR

PUBLIC LANDS ADMINISTERED BY THE

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

IN THE STATE OF WYOMING

AUGUST 12, 1997

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APPENDIX 8

INTRODUCTION 

According to the Department of the Interior’s final rule for 

grazing administration, effective August 21, 1995, the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management (BLM) State Director is 

responsible for the development of standards for healthy 

rangelands and guidelines for livestock grazing management 

on 18 million acres of Wyoming’s public rangelands. The 

development and application of these standards and guidelines are to achieve the four fundamentals of rangeland health 

outlined in the grazing regulations (43 CFR 4180.1). Those 

four fundamentals are: (1) watersheds are functioning properly; (2) water, nutrients, and energy are cycling properly; (3) 

water quality meets State standards; and (4) habitat for special 

status species is protected. 

Standards address the health, productivity, and sustainability 

of the BLM administered public rangelands and represent the 

minimum acceptable conditions for the public rangelands. 

The standards apply to all resource uses on public lands. Their 

application will be determined as use-specific guidelines are 

developed. Standards are synonymous with goals and are 

observed on a landscape scale. They describe healthy rangelands rather than important rangeland by-products. The 

achievement of a standard is determined by observing, measuring, and monitoring appropriate indicators. An indicator is 

a component of a system whose characteristics (e.g., presence, 

absence, quantity, and distribution) can be observed, measured, or monitored based on sound scientific principles. 

Guidelines provide for, and guide the development and 

implementation of, reasonable, responsible, and cost-effective management practices at the grazing allotment and watershed level. The guidelines in this document apply specifically 

to livestock grazing management practices on the BLM administered public lands. These management practices will 

either maintain existing desirable conditions or move rangelands toward statewide standards within reasonable timeframes. 

Appropriate guidelines will ensure that the resultant management practices reflect the potential for the watershed, consider 

other uses and natural influences, and balance resource goals 

with social, cultural/historic, and economic opportunities to 

sustain viable local communities. Guidelines, like standards, 

apply statewide. 

Implementation of the Wyoming standards and guidelines 

will generally be done in the following manner: Grazing 

allotments or groups of allotments in a watershed will be 

reviewed based on the BLM’s current allotment categorization and prioritization process. Allotments with existing 

management plans and high-priority allotments will be reviewed first. Lower priority allotments will be reviewed as 

time allows or when it becomes necessary for BLM to review 

the permit/lease for other reasons such as permit/lease transfers, permittee/lessee requests for change in use, etc. The 

permittees and interested publics will be notified when allotments are scheduled for review and encouraged to participate 

in the review. The review will first determine if an allotment 

meets each of the six standards. If it does, no further action 

will be necessary. If any of the standards aren’t being met, 

then rationale explaining the contributing factors will be 

prepared. If livestock grazing practices are found to be among 

the contributing factors, corrective actions consistent with the 

guidelines will be developed and implemented before the next 

grazing season in accordance with 43 CFR 4180. If a lack of 

data prohibits the reviewers from determining if a standard is 

being met, then a strategy will be developed to acquire the data 

in a timely manner. 

On a continuing basis, the Standards for Healthy Rangelands will direct on-the-ground management on the public 

lands. They will serve to focus the on-going development and 

implementation of activity plans toward the maintenance or 

the attainment of healthy rangelands. 

Quantifiable resource objectives and specific management 

practices to maintain or achieve the standards will be developed at the local BLM District and Resource Area levels and 

will consider all reasonable and practical options available to 

achieve desired results on a watershed or grazing allotment 

scale. The objectives shall be reflected in site-specific activity 

or implementation plans as well as in livestock grazing permits/leases for the public lands. These objectives and practices may be developed formally or informally through mechanisms available and suited to local needs (such as Coordinated 

Resource Management (CRM) efforts). 

The development and implementation of standards and 

guidelines will enable on-the-ground management of the 

public rangelands to maintain a clear and responsible focus on 

both the health of the land and its dependent natural and 

human communities. This development and implementation 

will ensure that any mechanisms currently being employed or 

that may be developed in the future will maintain a consistent 

focus on these essential concerns. This development and 

implementation will also enable immediate attention to be 

brought to bear on existing resource concerns. 

These standards and guidelines are compatible with BLM’s 

three-tiered land use planning process. The first tier includes 

the laws, regulations, and policies governing BLM’s administration and management of the public lands and their uses. 

The previously mentioned fundamentals of rangeland health 

specified in 43 CFR 4180.1, the requirement for BLM to 

develop these State (or regional) standards and guidelines, 

and the standards and guidelines themselves, are part of this 

first tier. Also part of this first tier are the specific requirements of various Federal laws and the objectives of 43 CFR 

4100.2 that require BLM to consider the social and economic 

well-being of the local communities in its management process. 

These standards and guidelines will provide for statewide 

consistency and guidance in the preparation, amendment, and 

maintenance of BLM land use plans, which represent the 

second tier of the planning process. The BLM land use plans 

provide general allocation decisions concerning the kinds of 

resource and land uses that can occur on the BLM administered public lands, where they can occur, and the types of 

conditional requirements under which they can occur. In 

general, the standards will be the basis for development of 

planning area-specific management objectives concerning 

rangeland health and productivity, and the guidelines will 

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direct development of livestock grazing management actions 

to help accomplish those objectives. 

The third tier of the BLM planning process, activity or 

implementation planning, is directed by the applicable land 

use plan and, therefore, by the standards and guidelines. The 

standards and guidelines, as BLM statewide policy, will also 

directly guide development of the site-specific objectives and 

the methods and practices used to implement the land use plan 

decisions. Activity or implementation plans contain objectives which describe the site-specific conditions desired. 

Grazing permits/leases for the public lands contain terms and 

conditions which describe specific actions required to attain 

or maintain the desired conditions. Through monitoring and 

evaluation, the BLM, grazing permittees, and other interested 

parties determine if progress is being made to achieve activity 

plan objectives. 

Wyoming rangelands support a variety of uses which are of 

significant economic importance to the State and its communities. These uses include oil and gas production, mining, 

recreation and tourism, fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing, and 

livestock grazing. Rangelands also provide amenities which 

contribute to the quality of life in Wyoming such as open 

spaces, solitude, and opportunities for personal renewal. 

Wyoming’s rangelands should be managed with consideration of the State’s historical, cultural, and social development 

and in a manner which contributes to a diverse, balanced, 

competitive, and resilient economy in order to provide opportunity for economic development. Healthy rangelands can 

best sustain these uses. 

To varying degrees, BLM management of the public lands 

and resources plays a role in the social and economic wellbeing of Wyoming communities. The National Environmental Policy Act (part of the above-mentioned first planning tier) 

and various other laws and regulations mandate the BLM to 

analyze the socioeconomic impacts of actions occurring on 

public rangelands. These analyses occur during the environmental analysis process of land use planning (second planning 

tier), where resource allocations are made, and during the 

environmental analysis process of activity or implementation 

planning (third planning tier). In many situations, factors that 

affect the social and economic well-being of local communities extend far beyond the scope of BLM management or 

individual public land users’ responsibilities. In addition, 

since standards relate primarily to physical and biological 

features of the landscape, it is very difficult to provide measurable socioeconomic indicators that relate to the health of 

rangelands. It is important that standards be realistic and 

within the control of the land manager and users to achieve. 

STANDARDS FOR HEALTHY 

PUBLIC RANGELANDS 

STANDARD #1 

Within the potential of the ecological site (soil type, 

landform, climate, and geology), soils are stable and allow 

for water infiltration to provide for optimal plant growth 

and minimal surface runoff. 

THIS MEANS THAT: 

The hydrologic cycle will be supported by providing for 

water capture, storage, and sustained release. Adequate 

energy flow and nutrient cycling through the system will be 

achieved as optimal plant growth occurs. Plant communities 

are highly varied within Wyoming. 

INDICATORS MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED 

TO: 

• Water infiltration rates; 

• Soil compaction; 

• Erosion (rills, gullies, pedestals, capping); 

• Soil micro-organisms; 

• Vegetative cover (gully bottoms and slopes); and 

• Bare ground and litter. 

The above indicators are applied as appropriate to the 

potential of the ecological site. 

STANDARD #2 

Riparian and wetland vegetation has structural, age, 

and species diversity characteristic of the stage of channel 

succession and is resilient and capable of recovering from 

natural and human disturbance in order to provide forage 

and cover, capture sediment, dissipate energy, and provide for ground water recharge. 

THIS MEANS THAT: 

Wyoming has highly varied riparian and wetland systems 

on public lands. These systems vary from large rivers to small 

streams and from springs to large wet meadows. These 

systems are in various stages of natural cycles and may also 

reflect other disturbance that is either localized or widespread 

throughout the watershed. Riparian vegetation captures sediments and associated materials, thus enhancing the nutrient 

cycle by capturing and utilizing nutrients that would otherwise move through a system unused. 

INDICATORS MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED 

TO: 

• Erosion and deposition rate; 

• Channel morphology and flood plain function; 

• Channel succession and erosion cycle; 

• Vegetative cover; 

• Plant composition and diversity (species, age class, 

structure, successional stages, desired plant community, etc.); 

• Bank stability; 

• Woody debris and instream cover; and 

• Bare ground and litter. 

The above indicators are applied as appropriate to the 

potential of the ecological site. 

STANDARD #3 

Upland vegetation on each ecological site consists of 

plant communities appropriate to the site which are resil653
APPENDIX 8

ient, diverse, and able to recover from natural and human 

disturbance. 

THIS MEANS THAT: 

In order to maintain desirable conditions and/or recover 

from disturbance within acceptable timeframes, plant communities must have the components present to support the 

nutrient cycle and adequate energy flow. Plants depend on 

nutrients in the soil and energy derived from sunlight. Nutrients stored in the soil are used over and over by plants, 

animals, and micro organisms. The amount of nutrients 

available and the speed with which they cycle among plants, 

animals, and the soil are fundamental components of rangeland health. The amount, timing, and distribution of energy 

captured through photosynthesis are fundamental to the function of rangeland ecosystems. 

INDICATORS MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED 

TO: 

• Vegetative cover; 

• Plant composition and diversity (species, age class, 

structure, successional stages, desired plant community, etc.); 

• Bare ground and litter; 

• Erosion (rills, gullies, pedestals, capping); and 

• Water infiltration rates. 

The above indicators are applied as appropriate to the 

potential of the ecological site. 

STANDARD #4 

Rangelands are capable of sustaining viable populations and a diversity of native plant and animal species 

appropriate to the habitat. Habitats that support or could 

support threatened species, endangered species, species of 

special concern, or sensitive species will be maintained or 

enhanced. 

THIS MEANS THAT: 

The management of Wyoming rangelands will achieve or 

maintain adequate habitat conditions that support diverse 

plant and animal species. These may include listed threatened 

or endangered species (U.S. Fish and Wildlife-designated), 

species of special concern (BLM-designated), and other sensitive species (State of Wyoming-designated). The intent of 

this standard is to allow the listed species to recover and be 

delisted, and to avoid or prevent additional species becoming 

listed. 

INDICATORS MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED 

TO: 

• Noxious weeds; 

• Species diversity; 

• Age class distribution; 

• All indicators associated with the upland and riparian 

standards; 

• Population trends; and 

• Habitat fragmentation. 

The above indicators are applied as appropriate to the 

potential of the ecological site. 

STANDARD #5 

Water quality meets State standards. 

THIS MEANS THAT: 

The State of Wyoming is authorized to administer the 

Clean Water Act. BLM management actions or use authorizations will comply with all Federal and State water quality 

laws, rules and regulations to address water quality issues that 

originate on public lands. Provisions for the establishment of 

water quality standards are included in the Clean Water Act, 

as amended, and the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act, as 

amended. Regulations are found in Part 40 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations and in Wyoming’s Water Quality Rules 

and Regulations. The latter regulations contain Quality Standards for Wyoming Surface Waters. 

Natural processes and human actions influence the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water. Water 

quality varies from place to place with the seasons, the 

climate, and the kind substrate through which water moves. 

Therefore, the assessment of water quality takes these factors 

into account. 

INDICATORS MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED 

TO: 

• Chemical characteristics (e.g., pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen); 

• Physical characteristics (e.g., sediment, temperature, 

color); and 

• Biological characteristics (e.g., macro- and micro-invertebrates, fecal coliform, and plant and animal species). 

STANDARD #6 

Air quality meets State standards. 

THIS MEANS THAT: 

The State of Wyoming is authorized to administer the 

Clean Air Act. BLM management actions or use authorizations will comply with all Federal and State air quality laws, 

rules, regulations and standards. Provisions for the establishment of air quality standards are included in the Clean Air Act, 

as amended, and the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act, as 

amended. Regulations are found in Part 40 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations and in Wyoming Air Quality Standards 

and Regulations. 

INDICATORS MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED 

TO: 

• Particulate matter; 

• Sulfur dioxide; 

• Photochemical oxidants (ozone); 

• Volatile organic compounds (hydrocarbons); 

• Nitrogen oxides; 

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• Carbon monoxide; 

• Odors; and 

• Visibility. 

BLM WYOMING GUIDELINES 

FOR LIVESTOCK GRAZING 

MANAGEMENT 

1. Timing, duration, and levels of authorized grazing will 

ensure that adequate amounts of vegetative ground cover, 

including standing plant material and litter, remain after 

authorized use to support infiltration, maintain soil moisture storage, stabilize soils, allow the release of sufficient 

water to maintain system function, and to maintain subsurface soil conditions that support permeability rates 

and other processes appropriate to the site. 

2. Grazing management practices will restore, maintain, or 

improve riparian plant communities. Grazing management strategies consider hydrology, physical attributes, 

and potential for the watershed and the ecological site. 

Grazing management will maintain adequate residual 

plant cover to provide for plant recovery, residual forage, 

sediment capture, energy dissipation, and ground water 

recharge. 

3. Range improvement practices (instream structures, fences, 

water troughs, etc.) in and adjacent to riparian areas will 

ensure that stream channel morphology (e.g., gradient, 

width/depth ratio, channel roughness and sinuosity) and 

functions appropriate to climate and landform are maintained or enhanced. The development of springs, seeps, 

or other projects affecting water and associated resources 

shall be designed to protect the ecological and hydrological functions, wildlife habitat, and significant cultural, 

historical, and archaeological values associated with the 

water source. Range improvements will be located away 

from riparian areas if they conflict with achieving or 

maintaining riparian function. 

4. Grazing practices that consider the biotic communities as 

more than just a forage base will be designed in order to 

ensure that the appropriate kinds and amounts of soil 

organisms, plants, and animals to support the hydrologic 

cycle, nutrient cycle, and energy flow are maintained or 

enhanced. 

5. Continuous season-long or other grazing management 

practices that hinder the completion of plants’ life-sustaining reproductive and/or nutrient cycling processes 

will be modified to ensure adequate periods of rest at the 

appropriate times. The rest periods will provide for 

seedling establishment or other necessary processes at 

levels sufficient to move the ecological site condition 

toward the resource objective and subsequent achievement of the standard. 

6. Grazing management practices and range improvements 

will adequately protect vegetative cover and physical 

conditions and maintain, restore, or enhance water quality to meet resource objectives. The effects of new range 

improvements (water developments, fences, etc.) on the 

health and function of rangelands will be carefully considered prior to their implementation. 

7. Grazing management practices will incorporate the kinds 

and amounts of use that will restore, maintain, or enhance 

habitats to assist in the recovery of Federal threatened and 

endangered species or the conservation of federallylisted species of concern and other State-designated special status species. Grazing management practices will 

maintain existing habitat or facilitate vegetation change 

toward desired habitats. Grazing management will consider threatened and endangered species and their habitats. 

8. Grazing management practices and range improvements 

will be designed to maintain or promote the physical and 

biological conditions necessary to sustain native animal 

populations and plant communities. This will involve 

emphasizing native plant species in the support of ecological function and incorporating the use of non-native 

species only in those situations in which native plant 

species are not available in sufficient quantities or are 

incapable of maintaining or achieving properly functioning conditions and biological health. 

9. Grazing management practices on uplands will maintain 

desired plant communities or facilitate change toward 

desired plant communities. 

DEFINITIONS 

ACTIVITY PLANS 

Allotment Management Plans (AMPs), Habitat Management 

Plans (HMPs), Watershed Management Plans (WMPs), Wild 

Horse Management Plans (WHMPs), and other plans developed at the local level to address specific concerns and 

accomplish specific objectives. 

COORDINATED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 

(CRM) 

A group of people working together to develop common 

resource goals and resolve natural resource concerns. CRM is 

a people process that strives for win-win situations through 

consensus-based decisionmaking. 

DESIRED PLANT COMMUNITY 

A plant community which produces the kind, proportion, and 

amount of vegetation necessary for meeting or exceeding the 

land use plan/activity plan objectives established for an ecological site(s). The desired plant community must be consistent with the site’s capability to produce the desired vegetation 

through management, land treatment, or a combination of the 

two. 

ECOLOGICAL SITE 

An area of land with specific physical characteristics that 

differs from other areas both in its ability to produce distinctive kinds and amounts of vegetation and in its response to 

management. 

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EROSION 

(v.) Detachment and movement of soil or rock fragments by 

water, wind, ice, or gravity. (n.) The land surface worn away 

by running water, wind, ice, or other geological agents, 

including such processes as gravitational creep. 

GRAZING MANAGEMENT PRACTICES 

Grazing management practices include such things as grazing 

systems (rest-rotation, deferred rotation, etc.), timing and 

duration of grazing, herding, salting, etc. They do not include 

physical range improvements. 

GUIDELINES (For Grazing Management) 

Guidelines provide for, and guide the development and implementation of, reasonable, responsible, and cost-effective 

management actions at the allotment and watershed level 

which move rangelands toward statewide standards or maintain existing desirable conditions. Appropriate guidelines 

will ensure that the resultant management actions reflect the 

potential for the watershed, consider other uses and natural 

influences, and balance resource goals with social, cultural/ 

historic, and economic opportunities to sustain viable local 

communities. Guidelines, and therefore, the management 

actions they engender, are based on sound science, past and 

present management experience, and public input. 

INDICATOR 

An indicator is a component of a system whose characteristics 

(e.g., presence, absence, quantity, and distribution) can be 

observed, measured, or monitored based on sound scientific 

principles. An indicator can be evaluated at a site- or speciesspecific level. Monitoring of an indicator must be able to 

show change within timeframes acceptable to management 

and be capable of showing how the health of the ecosystem is 

changing in response to specific management actions. Selection of the appropriate indicators to be observed, measured, or 

monitored in a particular allotment is a critical aspect of early 

communication among the interests involved on-the-ground. 

The most useful indicators are those for which change or trend 

can be easily quantified and for which agreement as to the 

significance of the indicator is broad based. 

LITTER 

The uppermost layer of organic debris on the soil surface, 

essentially the freshly fallen or slightly decomposed vegetal 

material. 

MANAGEMENT ACTIONS 

Management actions are the specific actions prescribed by the 

BLM to achieve resource objectives, land use allocations, or 

other program or multiple use goals. Management actions 

include both grazing management practices and range improvements. 

OBJECTIVE 

An objective is a site-specific statement of a desired rangeland 

condition. It may contain either or both qualitative elements 

and quantitative elements. Objectives frequently speak to 

change. They are the focus of monitoring and evaluation 

activities at the local level. Monitoring of the indicators would 

show negative changes or positive changes. Objectives should 

focus on indicators of greatest interest for the area in question. 

RANGE IMPROVEMENTS 

Range improvements include such things as corrals, fences, 

water developments (reservoirs, spring developments, pipelines, wells, etc.) and land treatments (prescribed fire, herbicide treatments, mechanical treatments, etc.). 

RANGELAND 

Land on which the native vegetation (climax or natural potential) is predominantly grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, or 

shrubs. This includes lands revegetated naturally or artificially when routine management of that vegetation is accomplished mainly through manipulation of grazing. Rangelands 

include natural grasslands, savannas, shrublands, most deserts, 

tundra, alpine communities, coastal marshes, and wet meadows. 

RANGELAND HEALTH 

The degree to which the integrity of the soil and ecological 

processes of rangeland ecosystems are sustained. 

RIPARIAN 

An area of land directly influenced by permanent water. It has 

visible vegetation or physical characteristics reflective of 

permanent water influence. Lakeshores and streambanks are 

typical riparian areas. Excluded are such sites as ephemeral 

streams or washes that do not have vegetation dependent on 

free water in the soil. 

STANDARDS 

Standards are synonymous with goals and are observed on a 

landscape scale. Standards apply to rangeland health and not 

to the important by-products of healthy rangelands. Standards 

relate to the current capability or realistic potential of a 

specific site to produce these by-products, not to the presence 

or absence of the products themselves. It is the sustainability 

of the processes, or rangeland health, that produces these byproducts. 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS 

Terms and conditions are very specific land use requirements 

that are made a part of the land use authorization in order to 

assure maintenance or attainment of the standard. Terms and 

conditions may incorporate or reference the appropriate portions of activity plans (e.g., Allotment Management Plans). In 

other words, where an activity plan exists that contains objectives focused on meeting the standards, compliance with the 

plan may be the only term and condition necessary in that 

allotment. 

UPLAND 

Those portions of the landscape which do not receive additional moisture for plant growth from run-off, streamflow, etc. 

Typically these are hills, ridgetops, valley slopes, and rolling 

plains. 

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