Books about Rangeland from Amazon.com

For most of the last century, range management meant managing land for livestock The best measure of success was how well a landowner grew the grass that cattle ate. In this century, landowners look to hunting and wildlife viewing for income; rangeland is now also wildlife habitat, and landowners are managing their land not just for cattle but also for wildlife, most notably deer and quail. Unlike other books on white-tailed deer in places where rainfall is relatively high and the environment stable, this book takes an ecological approach to deer management in the semiarid lands of Oklahoma, Texas, and northern Mexico. These are the least productive of white-tail habitats, where periodic drought punctuates long-term weather patterns. The book's focus on this landscape across political borders is one of its original and lasting contributions. Another is its contention that good management is based on ecological principles that guide the manager's thinking about: Habitat Requirements of White-Tailed Deer; White-Tailed Deer Nutrition; Carrying Capacity; Habitat Manipulation; Predators; and Hunting..
Price: $18.07 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Charles Goodnight was a pioneer of the early range cattle industry--an opinionated and profane but energetic and well-liked rancher.

Goodnight's story is now re-examined by William T. Hagan in this brief, authoritative account that considers the role of ranching in general--and Goodnight in particular--in the development of the Texas Panhandle. The first major reassessment of his life in seventy years, Charles Goodnight: Father of the Texas Panhandle traces its subject's life from hardscrabble farmer to cattle baron, giving close attention to lesser-known aspects of his last thirty years.

As entertaining as it is informative, Hagan's account takes readers back to the Palo Duro Canyon and the Staked Plains to share insights into the cattleman's life--riding the range, fighting grass fires, driving cattle to the nearest railhead--the very stuff of cowboy legend and lore. This fascinating biography enriches our understanding of a Texas icon..
Price: $22.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Dan Dagget profiles ten rancher-conservationist partnerships that demonstrate positive methods for creating sustainable ways of inhabiting the land..
Price: $15.69 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Exploring the concept of fragmentation, the ecological processes interrupted by fragmentation, and the social consequences of fragmented landscapes, this book presents a timely synthesis on the effects of fragmentation on arid and semi-arid pastoral systems throughout the world.

The global significance of the world’s rangelands is large, with these arid and semi-arid systems making up almost 25% of the earth’s landscapes – and supporting the livelihoods of more than 20 million people. These ecosystems are also home to several of the planet’s remaining megafauna, as well as other important species. Yet fragmentation across these rangelands has significantly impaired the ability of both people and animals to compensate for temporal heterogeneity in vegetation and water by exploiting its spatial heterogeneity, resulting in limited resource availability.

The case is developed that while fragmentation arises from different natural, social and economic conditions worldwide it creates similar outcomes for human and natural systems. With information from nine sites around the world the authors examine how fragmentation occurs, the patterns that result, and the consequences of fragmentation for ecosystems and the people who depend on them. The book will provide a valuable reference for students and researchers in rangeland ecology, park and natural resource management, environmental and ecological anthropology, economics and agriculture.

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Price: $186.41 [Notify me when price goes down.]

What began as a grassroots collaboration among a small number of ranchers and conservationists working to resolve rangeland problems has grown into an active faction of innovative (or visionary) ranchers called "New Ranchers." In The New Ranch Handbook, author Nathan F. Sayre demonstrates how livestock ranching and conservation values can be compatible and ranchers and environmentalists can work together to benefit rangelands. On New Ranches in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and elsewhere, livestock has been managed in progressive ways and the land has responded: vegetation is more diverse and productive, soils are more stable, streams and springs have come back to life. Wildlife, watersheds, livestock, and ranchers have all benefited. The New Ranch Handbook situates the practices of these ranches in relation to recent models and knowledge in range science and ecology. The six New Ranches profiled here demonstrate that this can be done economically and with far-reaching benefits to land, people, and wildlife. The New Ranch Handbook is essential reading for ranchers, agency officials, environmentalists, conservationists, biologists, rangeland managers, and anyone interested in sustainable agriculture..
Price: $113.21 [Notify me when price goes down.]