Almost two-thirds of Utah land (66.5%) is federally owned, making public land management a crucial component of the state’s economy and ecology. State appropriations for the Utah State University Public Lands Initiative were approved in 2018 and are managed by the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station. Researchers use the funding, in concert with required matching funds, to work on issues linked to many aspects of public lands management. See summaries below of research and activities currently supported by the USU Public Lands Initiative.
Delegates agreed to the common goal of “healthy herds on healthy rangelands.” Additionally, they shared a common frustration, the increased polarization of all interest groups that results in political and management gridlock of federally protected equids...
The distribution and abundance of the greater sage-grouse have declined in the last 60 years. Range contractions and population declines have been attributed to anthropogenically driven loss and fragmentation of their sagebrush habitats.
Public Lands Initiative funds provided to the Berryman Institute at Utah State University.
Thanks to Public Lands Initiative support, we have leveraged funding from the Yamaha Corporation, the West Desert Adaptive Resources Management local working group (WDARM), the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), the U.S. Forest Service, and the B...
Utah State University graduate students Marshall Wolf and Karen Bartelt were hired to develop a research program aimed at understanding how the construction and eventual collapse of beaver dams influence the ecological and geomorphic characteristics of fl...
The Utah Forest Institute hired a full-time technician (Megan Nasto, Ph.D. University of Montana) to lead the expansion of the Utah Forest Institute into field work as well as to complete the fire atlas for Utah.
Western states rely on public lands for economic benefits derived from livestock grazing, recreation, and hunting. The presence and abundance of wild horses has been associated with wetland degradation, soil compaction, and spread of noxious weeds.
The goals of our project are to enhance native plant seed collection efforts in southern Utah and provide baseline data for pollinator diversity and abundance on public lands.
Of all farm income generated in Utah, 34% is from cattle and calves produced as meat animals. Over the past five years, the Utah gross income from beef cattle sales has varied from a high of $807 million in 2014 to a low of $498 million in 2017.
Invasive annual grasses alter public western rangeland ecosystems after a fire. Our research goal is to examine the success of post-fire re-vegetation and seeding treatments in Box Elder County Utah.
This collaboration between Utah State University and the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (DOGM) will develop an effective landscape monitoring protocol to assist land managers in the evaluation of reclamation activities across the state.
Legislative funding from the Public Lands Initiative for FY19 was used to hire a PhD-level Assistant Director of Research and Operations position. The Assistant Director of Research and Operations position plays a leadership role.
Efforts have focused on preparing to treat hazardous fuels with Big Box kilns this fall and winter. The first of three Big Box kilns is complete and ready, it measures 16’ long, 7.5‘ wide, and 6’ tall. We purchased a 16-foot deck-over aluminum trailer to ...
Over the past year, we have made considerable progress and remain on schedule with regard to our work plan and budget. In April, we published a peer-reviewed manuscript in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, in collaboration with Jon Czuba, assistant p...
