National-Level Rangeland Inventory and Assessment

Management of this Nation’s one billion acres of rangeland is a critical environmental and economic issue. The status of America’s rangeland ecosystems as viewed by a broadening cross-section of society is of major importance and concern. Consistent and reliable information to aid in policy formation for all classes and ownerships of rangeland is not available because an adequate database does not exist to support this process.

SRM supports the expansion of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service’s National Resources Inventory (NRI), or similar concept, to include all lands. Implementation of a large statistically valid sampling procedure, as exemplified by NRI, is necessary to provide accurate assessments of the status of U.S. rangelands. Use of a uniform inventory and assessment methods on rangelands of all ownerships will make such determinations possible.

SRM encourages every agency involved in advising rangeland owners or managing rangelands to participate in the Federal Interagency Rangeland Health Committee (FIRHC) in its efforts to establish standard rangeland inventory and assessment procedures for all U.S. rangelands. SRM also urges the federal agencies to meet their respective legal mandates for periodically preparing factually consistent and relevant reports to Congress and others regarding the Nation’s rangelands.