It is that time of year again when several of us in the Tucson Field Office go out and monitor the uplands. In order to evaluate rangeland health,  each fall we monitor several transects that are laid out in specific pastures. We call on other field offices, people from other government agencies, non-profits and volunteers to come help us. Under the Tucson sun we take 1,000 data points in each pasture in different configurations of transects to measure basal grass cover. Not only do we measure grass cover but also how many species are present in each area. Some pastures have pieces of land fenced off from the cattle so that we can compare areas that are grazed by cattle to those with cattle excluded from them.

Collecting all of this data allows us to evaluate the health of each pasture. This helps us decide if there are certain pastures that need to be rested and not grazed in order to let the perennial grass recover. Once we have collected all of the data, we will meet in November to discuss the data with the rancher, other BLM members, non-profits and other agencies. This is a way in which everyone can help understand and have a say in how we manage the land; as we practice collaborative adaptive management.