Wildlife/Livestock Interactions

With increases in big game numbers on rangelands, there is an increasing potential for conflict between domestic and wild herbivores.

The Society has developed the following position statement: The land management agencies are responsible for habitat management. These legally mandated roles necessitate a cooperative approach to resource planning, management and monitoring with wildlife agencies. This cooperative approach should involve all concerned users, interest groups and landowners. Management goals and population objective numbers should be developed in a consultative manner on a herd unit basis, and management direction incorporated in land and resource management plans.

Land management agencies should establish and implement monitoring of ecological status of the range resource influenced by annual herbivore use.

Land management agencies must cooperate with wildlife agencies to insure consistency and compatibility of data used in determining range vegetation status and wildlife population trends.

Adequate funding must be provided to support achievement of land and resource management plan goals and objectives.

Adequate funding and staffing must be provided for collection, analysis, and interpretation of ecological status and trends towards meeting plan objectives.

Timely land resource decisions should be based on the best and most current data. It is in the best interest of basic resource management to make decisions with the best available data.