Forest and range policy

DEFINITION: High-level governmental plans of action for managing the use of forests and grazing lands

Many national and regional governments have established legal policies regarding the use of forests and rangelands. Forest and range policy typically seeks to maintain and protect biodiversity while setting guidelines for the sustainable use of natural resources. The lack of sound policy can lead to major problems such as deforestation, overgrazing, and desertification.

Rangeland supplies forage for grazing and browsing animals. According to 2020 statistics from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 3.1 billion hectares (7.9 billion acres) are used for grazing worldwide. Roughly one billion cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goats graze on rangelands. These animals are important in converting forages into milk and meat, which provide nourishment for people around world. Forests cover approximately 31 percent of the earth and provide humans with lumber, fuelwood, spices, chocolate, tropical fruits, nuts, latex rubber, and valuable chemicals that constitute the active ingredients of prescription and nonprescription pharmaceuticals, including powerful anticancer drugs. Rangelands and forests also function as important ecosystems that play a vital role in providing food and shelter for wildlife, serving as watersheds, controlling erosion, and purifying the atmosphere. Forests and rangelands have been facing alarming rates of destruction and degradation at the hands of humans.

Protecting Forests and Rangelands

The 6 billion hectares (14.8 billion acres) of forest estimated to have existed eight thousand years ago have been reduced to 4 billion hectares (9.9 billion acres) by human conversion of forestland to cropland, pastureland, cities, and nonproductive land. Forests, if properly maintained or left alone, are the most productive and self-sustaining ecosystems that land can support. Tropical rain forests are the natural for at least 50 percent of the species on earth. Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson has stated that, with tropical condemning an estimated fifty thousand species to extinction annually, 25 percent of the earth’s species could become extinct within a fifty-year period.

Many national governments have established legal policies for protecting forest habitats and the important biological diversity found within them. National parks and reserves provide protection for both forests and rangelands. Some countries have local, regional, and national laws that protect particular forests or prohibit the clearing, burning, or logging of forests. China, which suffered from and terrible floods as a result of centuries of deforestation, began an impressive campaign during the 1960’s. In the 1980s, 12 percent of the nation was covered by firested land; by 2022, that number had jumped to 24 percent. As an additional environmental protection measure, in 1998 the Chinese government banned logging in large forested areas in Sichuan province.

South Korea had lost almost all of its forested land by the end of the Korean War. Thanks to concentrated reforestation efforts during the 1970’s and 1980’s, by the beginning of the twenty-first century some 65 percent of the country’s land area was forested. In post-World War II Japan, strict environmental laws enabled the nation to reforest roughly two-thirds of its land area. However, Japan’s reliance on imported timber to achieve its goals of domestic forest conservation has contributed to deforestation in the Tropics and the American northwest. Even with the world’s many success stories in reforestation, efforts to protect and sustainably manage forests and rangelands still need to be increased if forests are to be saved.

Multiple-Use Policies

Protecting forestland involves an interdisciplinary approach. In the United States, 78 million hectares (193 million acres) of the country’s forests are publicly owned and managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Passage of the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 marked the beginning of the nation’s official policy of managing public forests to protect wildlife and fish habitats and watersheds while at the same time providing outdoor recreation, range, and timber for current and future generations. The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974, amended by the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976, directs that management plans must be developed for forests and rangelands to ensure that resources will be available on a sustained basis. Management policies must aim to sustain and protect biodiversity; old-growth forests; riparian areas; threatened, endangered, and sensitive species; rangeland; water and air quality; access to forests; and wildlife and fisheries habitat.

The Forest Service provides inexpensive grazing lands for more than two million cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and burros every year, supports multimillion-dollar mining operations, maintains a network of roads eight times longer than the U.S. interstate highway system, and allows access to nonreserved national forestlands for commercial logging. The Forest Service is responsible for producing plans for multiple uses of national lands. Assessments of forest and rangeland natural resources are conducted every ten years, and interim updates are issued between the assessments.

Sustainability policies require that the net productive capacity of a forest or rangeland does not decrease with multiple-use practices. Soil productivity must thus be maintained, which involves keeping erosion, compaction, and displacement by mining or logging equipment and other motorized vehicles within tolerable limits. The maintenance of productivity further requires that a large percentage of the forest remain undeveloped so that soils and habitats, as well as tree cover, remain undisturbed and in their natural state.

The RPA and NFMA, along with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, mandate policies that encourage the proliferation of species native to and currently living in forests. Even though forests and rangelands are required to be multiple-use areas, policy maintains that no threatened, endangered, or sensitive species should suffer adverse impacts as a result of any human uses. Species habitats within forests are to remain well distributed and free of barriers that can cause fragmentation of animal populations and ultimately species loss. If human activities result in fragmented areas in a forest, corridors are constructed to connect the forest patches so that members of given species are not isolated from one another and viable populations can exist.

In the case of natural disasters, the Forest Service creates artificial habitats to encourage the survival of species. When Hurricane Hugo devastated the Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina in 1989, winds snapped 90 percent of the trees with active woodpecker cavities in some areas of the forest. This habitat destruction caused 70 percent of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker to disappear. The Forest Service and university researchers created nesting and roosting cavities to save the woodpeckers, and within a four-year period the population had made a dramatic recovery.

Timber, Oil, and Mineral Leasing

In U.S. forests, logging activities are covered by the NFMA and its amendments. Forested land must be evaluated for its ability to produce commercially usable timber without negative environmental impact. There must be reasonable assurance that stands managed for timber production can be adequately restocked within five years of the final harvest. Furthermore, irreversible resource damage must not be allowed to occur. Policy also requires that the practices that are best suited to the land-management objectives of the area be used. Cutting practices are then monitored.

Multiple-use practice under the NFMA also allows forests to be available for oil, gas, and leasing. Certain lands have been exempted from mineral exploration by acts of Congress or executive authority, but the search for and production of mineral and energy sources remain under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service, which must provide access to national forests for mineral resource activities. The Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act of 1987 gave the Forest Service increased authority in making lease decisions.

The 1990’s were characterized by a trend toward restricting logging in the United States in order to protect habitats and preserve older stands of trees. In the 1993 Renewable Resource Assessment update, the Forest Service found that timber was 24.3 percent and was still interfering with biological diversity. Some forested areas were withdrawn from timber production because of their fragility. The first two decades of the twenty-first century, by contrast, were marked by a series of logging-friendly administrative changes to forestry rules. Environmental organizations quickly countered these shifts in policy with lawsuits that blocked their implementation.

Pest and Weed Control

Insecticides are sometimes used in attempts to ensure the health of forestland. Policy in the United States requires the use of safe pesticides and encourages the development of integrated pest management (IPM) plans. Any decision to use a particular must be based on an analysis of its effectiveness, specificity, environmental impact, economic efficiency, and effects on humans. The application and use of pesticides must be coordinated with federal and state fish and wildlife management agencies to ensure that no harm occurs to either fish or wildlife. Pesticides can be applied to areas that are designated as wilderness only when their use is necessary to protect or restore resources in the area. Other methods of controlling disease include removing diseased trees and vegetation from the forest, cutting infected areas from plants and removing the debris, treating trees with antibiotics, and developing disease-resistant plant varieties.

Forest Service policy on IPM was revised in 1995 to emphasize the importance of integrating noxious weed management into the forest plan for analysis and assessment. Noxious weed management must be coordinated in cooperation with state and local government agencies, as well as private landowners. Noxious weeds include invasive, aggressive, or harmful nonindigenous or exotic plant species. They are generally poisonous, toxic, or parasitic, or may carry insects or disease. The Forest Service is responsible for the prevention, control, and eradication of noxious weeds in national forests and grasslands.

One strategy for promoting weed-free forests that has been implemented in several western U.S. states requires pack animals on national forestland to eat state-certified weed-free forage. In North Dakota, goats have been used to help control a noxious weed, leafy spurge, that crowds out native plants. Leafy spurge is unpalatable and toxic to cattle, but goats can safely include it in their diet. In a five-year weed-control study, goats grazed on designated spurge patches during the day and were kept in portable corrals during the night. The study found that the goats effectively reduced stem densities of spurge patches to the extent that livestock forage plants were able to reestablish themselves. Another weed-eradication strategy involves the use of certified weed-free straw and gravel in construction and rehabilitation efforts within national forests. Biocontrols, herbicides, and controlled burning are also commonly used during IPM operations in forests.

Other Protection Issues

The plant communities that grow in riparian areas (that is, natural watercourses and their banks) often serve as important habitats for a large variety of animals and birds and also provide shade, bank stability, and of sources. It is therefore important that these areas remain in good ecological condition. Riparian areas and streams are managed according to legal policies for wetlands, floodplains, water quality, endangered species, and wild and scenic rivers.

Access to open roads in forests may sometimes be curtailed to preserve habitat and return land to a more natural state. Dirt roads in national forests are often closed when road sediment pollutes riparian areas and harms fish populations. Forest and rangeland roads are also closed to prevent disruption of breeding or nesting colonies of various species of animals. Seemingly harmless human endeavors—such as seeking mushrooms, picking berries, or hiking in the forest—can cause problems for calving elk and nesting eagles, for example.

Studies have shown that the vast numbers of roads, and accompanying vegetation loss, on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service lands have made it too easy for humans to kill elk. The animals are in danger not only of being targeted by hunters but also of being struck by motor vehicles. In Oregon, researchers found few mature bulls in the elk population. Lack of mature bulls can cause many problems, including disruption of breeding seasons and conception dates and decreases in calf survival rates. Younger bulls generally breed later and over a longer period of time than mature bulls, a tendency that results in a calving season that lasts longer. Calves that are born late in the spring do not have enough time to feed on high-quality forage before winter. Long calving seasons also make the calves more vulnerable to predators, such as coyotes, bears, and mountain lions.

Fire management is important to healthy forests. In many cases fires are prevented or suppressed, but prescribed fires are used to protect and maintain ecosystem characteristics. Some conifers, such as the giant sequoia and the jack pine, their seeds for germination only after being exposed to intense heat. Lodgepole pines do not release their seeds until they have been scorched by fire. Ecosystems that depend on the recurrence of fire for regeneration and balance are called fire climax ecosystems. Prescribed fires are used as a management tool in these areas, which include some grasslands and pine habitats. Where overzealous fire suppression has interrupted natural cycles of burn and recovery, the buildup of forest undergrowth causes the wildfires that do occur to be hotter, more intense, and more difficult to control.

In 1964 the U.S. Congress passed the Wilderness Act, which mandates that certain federal lands be designated as wilderness areas. These lands must remain in their natural condition, provide solitude or primitive types of recreation, and (with a handful of exceptions) be at least 2,023 hectares (5,000 acres) in area. They usually contain ecological or geological systems of scenic, scientific, or historical value. No roads, motorized vehicles, or structures are allowed in these areas. Furthermore, no commercial activities are allowed in designated wilderness areas except livestock grazing and limited mining endeavors that began before the areas received their official designation.

Grazing Practices and Problems

About half of the world’s land area is rangeland—some 6.5 billion hectares (16.1 billion acres)—although roughly half of that is too dry, cold, or remote for livestock grazing. The grasses in rangelands are known for their deep, complex root systems, which make the grasses hard to uproot. When the tip of the leaf is eaten by a grazing animal, the plant quickly regrows. Each leaf of grass on the rangeland grows from its base, and the lower half of the plant must remain for the plant to thrive and survive. As long as only the top half of the grass is eaten, grasses serve as renewable resources that can provide many years of grazing. Each type of grassland is evaluated based on grass species, soil type, growing season, range condition, past use, and climatic conditions. These conditions determine the carrying capacity—that is, the maximum number of grazing animals a rangeland can sustain and remain renewable.

Overgrazing occurs when too many animals are allowed to graze in one area for too long or herbivore numbers exceed the carrying capacity. Grazing animals tend to eat their favorite grasses first and leave the tougher, less palatable plants. If animals are allowed to do this, the vegetation begins to grow in patches, allowing cacti and woody bushes to move into vacant areas. As native plants disappear from the range, weeds also begin to grow. As the nutritional level of the forage declines, hungry animals pull the grasses out by their roots, leaving the ground bare and susceptible to damage from hooves. This process initiates the desertification cycle. With no vegetation present, the soil become vulnerable to erosion, as rain quickly drains off the land and does not replenish the groundwater. Overgrazing and livestock-related soil and erosion have degraded an estimated 70 percent of all grazing land in the world’s dry areas. Other common factors contributing to rangeland loss include conversion into croplands or urban developments. In tropical areas where rangeland is increasing, gains are more often than not the result of conversion of rain-forest lands.

In the 2020s, 31 percent of land in the United States was by rangeland. Some 27 percent of this was owned and managed by the BLM, about 7 percent by the Forest Service. Rangeland held by private owners or state or local governments accounted for the remainder. Efforts to preserve rangelands in the United States include close of herbivore carrying capacity and removal of substandard ranges from the grazing cycle until they recover. Grazing practices such as cattle and sheep rotation help to preserve the renewable quality of rangelands. Grazing is also managed with consideration to season, moisture, and plant growth conditions. Noxious weed encroachment is controlled, and native forages and grasses are allowed to grow.

Most rangelands in the United States are short-grass prairies located in the western part of the nation. These lands are further characterized by thin soils and low annual precipitation. They experience numerous environmental stresses. Woody shrubs, such as mesquite and prickly cactus, often invade and take over these rangelands as overgrazing or other degradation occurs. Such areas are especially susceptible to desertification. Off-road recreational vehicles such as motorcycles, dune buggies, and four-wheel-drive trucks can also damage the vegetation on ranges. By the late twentieth century, overgrazing and other poor practices had left much of the nation’s rangeland in unsatisfactory condition.

Steps toward improving the health of rangelands include restoring and maintaining riparian areas and priority watersheds. These areas are monitored on a regular basis, and adjustments are made if their health is jeopardized by sediment from road use or degradation of important habitats caused by human activity. In the United States, the Natural Resources Conservation Service teaches private landowners how to burn unwanted woody plants on rangelands, reseed with perennial grasses that help hold water in the soil, and rotate grazing of cattle and sheep on rangelands so that the land is able to recover and thrive. Such methods have proven to be successful.

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