Sustainable Rangeland Management, Economic Growth, and a Cautious Role for the SRM

Interest in the art and science of rangeland management increased dramatically during the twentieth century and it was out of this interest that the Society for Range Management (SRM) was born. A review of SRM’s early policy statements, position statements, and resolutions reveals SRM’s focus was on “traditional” range management issues, such as livestock grazing, rangeland inventory, and multiple uses of rangeland resources. As public interest in rangeland management grew, so did the number, breadth, and depth of rangeland management issues. Consequently, SRM has responded to these new challenges and opportunities by adopting additional policy statements that address a wider array of rangeland management issues, such as biological diversity, noxious and invasive weeds, protection of rangeland and open space values, and reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act. The evolution of SRM policy statements reveals a general concern with the health and sustainability of rangelands, which in turn refl ects an overall concern in academia and public life about ecological and economic sustainability. We believe this is an important and appropriate trend, in and out of the SRM. We also believe that the number and diversity of rangeland management issues will continue to increase in concert with increasing demands for rangeland resources, and that public policies facilitating economic growth have the general effect of increasing demands for natural resources derived from rangelands. The objective of this article is to encourage the SRM to begin to address the effects of continued economic growth on rangeland resources.