BLM WY Laramie River Standards and Guidelines Healthy Rangeland Recovery Projects

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Project Background Information: The RFO (Rawlins Field Office) Range Management staff would like to utilize the recipient to assist with the construction of 3-4 different livestock exclosures and, clean up some old, but growing dump sites on public lands and assist with construction of a low tech rock structure to improve an existing water pipeline outlet. Watershed scale assessments were conducted in the area summer of 2007 and entail much more than assessment of just rangelands. Every aspect of natural resource management is evaluated and ultimately mitigated if there is an identified need. Areas where Standards were not met, particularly due to livestock, are mandated to be corrected and management adjusted accordingly. These projects are the identified actions for enabling the project areas to start achieving healthy rangeland standards. Project Objective: The exclosures are being constructed around springs and seep sites for protection of source water and to improve the overall water table and riparian vegetation of the vicinity. Other projects are smaller scale but enough of them have accumulated over the years to make getting them cleaned up or taken care of will be a large step towards better land stewardship. Statement of Joint Objectives/Project Management Plan: Recipient will be learning about the various construction and designs of each and how they have each been configured to achieve multiple resource goals. These projects are the result of in-depth field assessments by Interdisciplinary Teams of the Big Laramie River watershed assessment for Standards and Guidelines of Healthy Rangelands. The construction of the exclosures and stream restoration structures provides not only the hands-on element, but also tangible examples of implemented resource management, which came out of the professional and academic exercise of watershed scale, inter-disciplinary team assessments of Healthy Rangelands. Watershed scale assessments entail much more than assessment of just rangelands. Every aspect of natural resource management is evaluated and ultimately mitigated if there is an identified need. In addition to meeting a critical natural resource improvement need, these projects will also afford participants interaction with professional range management specialist, foresters, and ranchers within Albany County. There is a considerable educational element included with each project, and the specifics of each are intricately attached to multiple resource benefits and management implications. Period of Project: June 2009 Scope. 10 days 8 People: 8 hands on work days, 1 day for travel either end of tour: at least 8 hours of straight academic participation/education: 1st Project Day will have a 2 hour orientation, each different task will be accompanied by a 1 hour briefing session, last day of tour will be included a wrap up lastly at least 1 hour.

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