Rangeland in Northeastern California [Chapter 3.2]

Estimates of rangeland in the United States vary widely depending on the definition used, but, in general about one-third of the area of the United States (511 to 662 million acres [207 to 268 million ha] out of 2 billion acres [800 million ha] in the coterminous United States) is considered rangeland (Reeves and Mitchell 2011; USDA 2016; USDOI 2013). Rangeland should not be confused with grazing land that includes rangeland, pastureland, forestland, or any other land with potential for providing forage for wild or domestic ungulates (Society for Range Management 1998, and see Chapter 3.1, Warren, this synthesis, Perceptions and History of Rangeland). The U.S. Department of the Interior manages grazing on about 200 million acres (81 million ha), of which its Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees grazing on about 155 million acres (63 million ha) (USDOI 2013), although only about 135 million acres (55 million ha) of the BLMmanaged ground are considered rangelands (Reeves and Mitchell 2012). Similarly, although the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service manages grazing on 95 million acres (38 million ha) (USDA 2016), it only manages about 50 million acres (20 million ha) of rangeland (Reeves and Mitchell 2011).