Utah
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A total of 84 allotments occur within the boundaries of the Moab Field Office. Of these allotments, 74 are administered by the Moab FO, four are administered by the Vernal Field Office, and six are administered by the Grand Junction, Colorado, Field Office. Seventy-seven of the allotments are available for use by domestic livestock, and seven allotments were made unavailable for grazing by domestic livestock in 1995 and 1996. These seven allotments were made unavailable for the following reasons: enhancement of wildlife habitat, improvement of riparian vegetation, watershed benefits, and recreation values.
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Of the lands within grazing allotments, 1,794,798 acres (77 percent) are BLM lands within the State of Utah; 375,299 acres (16 percent) are State of Utah lands; 83,640 acres (four percent) are private; 1,632 acres (less than one percent) are military; 1,146 acres (less than one percent) are United States Forest Service lands; and 73,395 acres (three percent) occur within the State of Colorado.
Of the 77 allotments that are permitted for use by domestic livestock, 64 allotments are grazed by cattle, three are grazed by cattle and horses, two are grazed by cattle and sheep, six are grazed by sheep, one is grazed by sheep and horses, and one is grazed by horses. Twenty-five (25) of the permitted allotments have allotment management plans (AMPs), while the remaining 52 allotments do not. Livestock use of these allotments, as well as those managed through AMPs, is authorized through grazing permits which contain terms and conditions controlling the numbers, timing, and duration of use as wells as other restrictions to livestock use. Allotment Management Plan (AMP) have been (and will be) developed where appropriate, since all allotments do not need to have AMPs. Please refer to the Analysis of Management Situation prepared for the Moab RMP (2004).
Authorized livestock use is typically expressed in animal unit months (AUMs), which is the amount of forage necessary for the sustenance of one cow, one horse, or five sheep for a period of one month. A total of 107,931 animal unit months (AUMs) are currently authorized (active) within boundaries of the Moab Field Office. Of the total authorized AUMs, 87,097 (81 percent) are used by cattle, 18,466 (17 percent) are used by sheep, and 485 (less than one percent) are used by horses. 1,883 AUMs (two percent) are, through agreement with the permittee(s), held inactive due to conservation purposes. An additional 25,972 AUMs are allowed through exchange of use (other ownership).
The BLM has developed Fundamentals of Rangeland Health and their companion rules--Standards for Rangeland Health and Guidelines for Grazing Management and they are posted on the Utah BLM website.
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