Studies have shown that rangeland grazed only by wildlife produces from 400 to 800 pounds of dry forage per acre. Today, the average rangeland grazed by domestic livestock produces less than 100 pounds per acre. The toll has been enormous in eroded soil, degraded streams, reduced wildlife populations, and loss of ecosystem diversity. Range Management Range researchers and managers have evolved several techniques for dealing with excessive cattle use. The first and simplest is salting.
Cattle crave salt.
If you put a salt block a mile from a creek, cattle will amble over to the salt, feeding along the way and in the area, lick the salt and get thirsty, return to the creek for a drink, and then, craving salt, work their way back to the salt. The second is to have an accurate count of the number of cows on the range. Most of the last few decades' scant improvement in Idaho rangelands can be attributed to this step. Even so, the acreages involved are so great and the number of BLM employees so small, that trespass grazing is a common occurrence. The third is to delay turnout of cattle in the spring.