grazing allotments. PL 104-19, the "1995 Rescissions Act," requires issuance of new grazing permits as current permits expire or are waived, even if NEPA analyses and other required documentation have not been completed. The Act also required the Forest Service to develop a schedule to complete NEPA analyses on all allotments where such analyses are needed. The Forest Service is issuing new permits upon expiration of old permits consistent with the provisions of PL 104-19 Sec. 504 and has scheduled NEPA analyses for all grazing allotments where such analyses are needed. The analyses are scheduled to be performed over a 15-year period which began in January 1996.

As NEPA analyses are completed and new allotment management plans (AMPs) are implemented, there is a collateral need for increased emphasis on monitoring. This includes monitoring to determine the effectiveness of AMPs in achieving objectives for

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USDA, Forest Service

vegetation, water quality, soils, threatened and endangered species habitat and other resource elements, and monitoring permittee compliance with terms and conditions of grazing permits. Monitoring is an important element of both the grazing management and vegetation management programs often performed at the same time.

Although public rangelands are in better condition today than they were at the turn of the century, about 23.5 million acres of National Forest System rangelands are in unsatisfactory condition or require further analysis to determine condition. Range condition is affected by many factors including: timing and duration of grazing by livestock and wildlife, recreational use, weather patterns, development of oil, gas and mineral resources, timber harvest, and others. The Forest Service will continue to take aggressive action to improve rangelands in unsatisfactory condition as funding permits.

Due to the diversity of rangeland ecosystems and overlapping program objectives, a successful range management program enhances the success of other Forest Service programs.

Management objectives for rangeland vegetation have been established on nearly 78 million acres of NFS lands within grazing allotments, including 2.5 million riparian acres. Approximately 29 million acres, or 37 percent, of rangeland vegetation within grazing allotments is meeting forest plan objectives.

In FY 1996, the Forest Service administered paid grazing permits for 9.9 million head months (HM's) of grazing by domestic livestock. Based on available funds, permit administration varies from intense monitoring and evaluation of resource conditions and permittee compliance, with responsive management applied as needed, to little or no administrative oversight. As funding permits, emphasis will continue on applying corrective measures to grazing allotments with declining or overstocked conditions.

Range improvements on the national forests in the 16 Western States are primarily funded

from the Range Betterment Fund. Planning and administrative costs for improvements are primarily paid from the Rangeland Management line item or other benefiting programs.

Reported accomplishments are a combination of Range Management and Range Betterment Fund activities. In FY 1996, 2,145 structural range improvements such as fences and water developments were installed to improve rangeland conditions.

• Program in FY 1998

In compliance with NEPA and PL 104-19, the Agency has scheduled the analyses of 6,886 grazing allotments over a 15 year period ending in 2010. The proposed budget allows collection and analysis of resource data sufficient to support NEPA evaluation and implementation of decisions for 1,100 to 1,200 grazing allotments, approximately 45 percent of the 2,516 allotments scheduled for comprehensive analysis in FYs 1996-1998. The Forest Service is committed to completing the scheduled analyses as expeditiously as possible. Even with the proposed increase, the schedule may have to be extended given current funding constraints. Projected accomplishments could be negatively affected as more resources are needed to meet monitoring requirements resulting from recently implemented decisions.

Under the FY 1998 proposal, allotment administration will be similar to FY 1997 as emphasis continues to be on completing schedule NEPA analyses. Approximately 10-15 percent of grazing allotments will be administered to Agency standard with adequate monitoring and corrective actions applied; 25-35 percent of allotments will be administered to low standard with one visit per year, with monitoring and corrective actions limited to worst case situations; 50-65 percent of allotments will not be administered, allowing no inspections, no monitoring and no corrective actions.

Collaboration with other Forest Service resource areas and permittees is required to ensure that management actions are ecologically responsible, economically viable and socially acceptable. The proposal will provide for

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USDA, Forest Service

Rangeland Vegetation Management

• Objectives

which produce forage for livestock and wildlife and generally support grasses, grasslike plants, forbs or shrubs. Rangelands include both forested and non-forested sites.

Vegetation management requires inventory, analysis, planning, management and monitoring. Inventories gather essential information on current resource conditions for a given area. Analysis of inventory data provides an assessment of existing conditions compared to potential for the site. Planning determines objectives for the site and how best to achieve them. Monitoring is the measure of success for management practices and identifies needed adjustments to management strategies.

Management practices can include activities that physically manipulate vegetation (seeding, prescribed burning, plowing, herbicides) or those that allow successional process to continue or terminate (implementing grazing strategies). Non-Structural Improvements

Non-structural improvements on national forests in the 16 Western States, as with structural improvements, are primarily funded from the Range Betterment Fund. Reported accomplishments are a combination of Rangeland Management and Range Betterment Fund activities. In FY 1996, 41,700 acres of non-structural improvement were accomplished. Wild Horse & Burro Management

Direction for wild horse and burro management is provided through territory management plans. Desired population levels are determined by habitat requirements and available forage. Resource conditions in wild horse and burro territories are inventoried and monitored as with other rangelands. Permitted livestock, wildlife, and other rangeland uses are considered in setting desired population levels. Excess animals are removed by authorized personnel and become available for adoption. Individuals adopting excess wild horses and

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burros may receive title after one year of proper

care.

Noxious Weeds

Noxious weed infestations occur on millions of acres of NFS lands and continue to spread. Noxious weeds adversely affect many resources. Wilderness, wildlife, forage, visual quality, reforestation, recreation opportunities, and land values are all affected. The Forest Service treated noxious weeds on 36,100 acres of NFS land during FY 1996, and an additional 31,000 acres were treated with funds from other

sources.

The 1990 Farm Bill amended the Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974. The amendment requires federal agencies to establish integrated management systems and to complete and implement cooperative agreements with State agencies to control noxious weeds. In response, the Forest Service has cooperated with USDA in developing Department and Agency strategies for noxious weed management and substantially strengthened noxious weed management direction to field units. Direction includes accountability for regional action plans to implement the Forest Service Noxious Weed Strategy, and the requirement for risk analysis when ground disturbing activities are planned. The Forest Service also provides leadership through USDA's Range Issues Working Group to meet the Secretary of Agriculture's responsibilities for coordinating all federal agency noxious weed management programs.

Priority is given to treatment of noxious weeds on NFS lands in conjunction with similar efforts by weed control districts on adjacent lands. In many cases, work on NFS lands is contracted through weed control districts. The Forest Service continues to be a strong supporter of the Western Weed Coordinating Council, which it helped to form in 1990. The Council enhances interagency cooperation and coordination;

efficiency, and public awareness; and furthers education on noxious weed ecology.

♦ Program in FY 1998

As stated above, the proposed budget allows collection and analysis of resource data sufficient to support NEPA evaluation for 1100 to 1200 grazing allotments. Corrective management to restore deteriorated or declining rangelands can only occur after NEPA evaluations are completed and decisions are implemented. As decisions are implemented the workload for effectiveness monitoring, an evaluation of resource conditions and trends in response to management, increases concurrently. Many decisions require monitoring compliance with special circumstances, such as meeting habitat requirements for threatened and endangered species. As more decisions are implemented, the program will become further unbalanced without additional funding emphasis on monitoring. The proposal will accomplish effectiveness monitoring on approximately 10-20% of active grazing allotments.

The program will accomplish planned capture and adoption of excess wild horses and burros in FY 1998. An updated census of wild horse and burro populations will not be accomplished and territories will not be monitored or evaluated for resource conditions and trends.

The proposal will allow $4 million to accomplish 55,000 acres of noxious weed control as the agency maintains the emphasis in this area begun in FY 1997.

The proposal will accomplish approximately 45,000 acres of range forage improvement, including improvements in the 16 Western States accomplished with Range Betterment Funding.