Give plants adequate rest to recover following grazing. Distribute grazing pressure evenly over the entire forage base. The complex nature of Aspen Parkland vegetation makes realizing these four considerations a difficult task. Balancing forage demand with supply simply means stocking rangeland with livestock numbers that will utilize, but not over-utilize the forage. The main problem is forage supply is not a constant, it changes during the season depending on the forage growth cycle, and between seasons depending on weather.
Droughts are frequent in the parkland area, varying in duration and degree.
Droughts as short as 10 days during the critical growth period, late May and early June, can have huge effects on forage growth and subsequently on livestock operations. There are several ways to manage around droughts, the most common of which is maintaining some form of emergency forage. Litter maintained on native grasslands is further insurance against drought because it insulates the soil from drying by sun and wind. Grass litter can be eaten as emergency forage, and it will improve forage production in drought situations. Native Aspen Parkland grasslands are susceptible to heavy growing season grazing, yet require growing season grazing to impede tree growth and expansion.