Rocky Mountain Research Station

Title: Estimated carrying capacity for cattle competing with prairie dogs and forage utilization in western South Dakota

Author: Uresk, Daniel W.; Paulson, Deborah D.

Date: 1988

Source: In: Szaro, Robert C.; Severson, Kieth E.; Patton, David R., technical coordinators. Management of amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals in North America: Proceedings of the symposium; 1988 July 19-21; Flagstaff, AZ. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-166. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. p. 387-398.

Station ID: GTR-RM-166

Description: Carrying capacities for cattle competing with black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) were estimated by a linear programming technique for management of cool-season grasses in western South Dakota. Forage utilization was allowed to range from 20% to 80%. Under management for cool-season grasses (western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii); needlegrasses (Stipa spp.)), stocking rates of cows ranged from 43 to 214 per hectare over a 6-month grazing season, and cow-calf stocking rates ranged from-43 to 214 per hectare over a 6-month grazing season, and cow-calf stocking rates ranged from 23 to 161. Needlegrasses and needleleaf sedge (Carex eleocharis) were key forage species.

Keywords: amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, public lands management, herpetofauna, riparian ecosystem, North America

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Citation

Uresk, Daniel W.; Paulson, Deborah D.  1988.  Estimated carrying capacity for cattle competing with prairie dogs and forage utilization in western South Dakota.   In: Szaro, Robert C.; Severson, Kieth E.; Patton, David R., technical coordinators. Management of amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals in North America: Proceedings of the symposium; 1988 July 19-21; Flagstaff, AZ. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-166. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. p. 387-398..