By james art 
Photo courtesy of USDA ARS
The Council on Public Lands welcomes a recent study by the University of Nevada, Reno this indicates that the cattle’s digestive process renders grass seeds effectively inert, effectively eliminating any ability of those seeds to germinate into new plants. This study effectively dispels the common myth that incorrectly blames cattle for the spread of invasive cheatgrass plants in western landscapes through grazing.
“As a grazing permit holder, I have seen first-hand how the presence of cattle on plots dramatically reduces the amount of grass and other invasive plants compared to non-cattle areas. This study proves that the spread of cheatgrass is not occurring as a byproduct of grazing and should be an incentive for federal agencies to work more with ranchers to protect range and remove invasive plants like cheatgrass, which are known to fuel catastrophic forest fires. fires,” said PLC President and Colorado Grazing Permit Tim Canterbury. “It has to happen now. With more than 6.1 million acres of land burned across the country this year, it’s high time to double down on grazing as the best way to remove invasive plants and protect our nation’s natural resources from wildfires. Thank you to the Nevada Department of Agriculture and the University of Nevada, Reno for completing this comprehensive study and all they do to support the livestock community.”
The results of the UNR study confirm what rangeland managers have seen through careful rangeland management: the timing of grazing on federal lands removes grass density that allows native grasses a chance to establish and grow, improving biodiversity and giving native grasses space to establish greater dominance. These ecological outcomes are only part of the voluntary conservation work that ranchers undertake to maintain rangelands, but ranchers often face serious regulatory barriers due to gaps in science or social misconceptions.
“This study is a perfect example of common sense meeting environmental realities: Livestock have long been maligned for the spread of cheatgrass in the West, even though cheatgrass has exploded in pastures where livestock have been reduced or eliminated. At the same time, we’ve seen a huge increase in acres affected by catastrophic wildfires, creating perfect conditions for cheatgrass to take over the landscape,” said PLC Executive Director Caitlin Glover. “What we see in the West today is a perfect storm of mismanagement and misinformation, and this study is a huge step in the right direction in applying real solutions to real problems, like late-season grazing of cheatgrass.” If the seeds cannot survive the digestion process, cattle are the ideal tool: grazing immediately reduces the accumulation of fine fuel to reduce the risk of fire, neutralizes the seeds to prevent re-sprouting the following year, and provides critical organic matter for maintaining native grasses in the following year. I thank the researchers who took the time to conduct this painstaking study and prove that grazing is the best practice for protecting our western landscape.”