Science-based grazing management is crucial to preserving and improving rangeland productivity and sagebrush ecosystem health. By adjusting the timing, duration, frequency, and intensity of grazing, managers can contribute to ecosystem services such as fuel reduction and invasive annual grass control. They can also utilize rotational grazing to minimize or mitigate impacts on sensitive species. However, practitioners of outcome-based grazing often do not have access to the suite of data needed to inform effective grazing management. The Grazing Management Tool (GMT) is a decision support tool that is designed to assist with grazing planning and management for producers and rangeland managers within the state of Nevada. The GMT operationalizes the science around grazing to help plan where, when, and how intensely to graze within a pasture or allotment to optimize production while protecting or improving ecological resilience. The tool centralizes several spatial datasets integral to grazing planning and management, including vegetation cover, biomass, water features, wildfire occurrence and risk, ecological monitoring, sensitive wildlife habitat, and ecological resilience. The GMT provides an interactive and easy-to-use framework in support of common goals for all stakeholders working toward productive and resilient rangelands.
This software is provided for timely best science. Although the software has been subjected to rigorous review, the USGS reserves the right to update the software as needed pursuant to further analysis and review. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS or the U.S. Government as to the functionality of the software and related material nor shall the fact of release constitute any such warranty. Furthermore, the software is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use.
