Handbooks

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Be sure your perimeter fencing meets state codes. It is a matter of practical management to contain your livestock, and potential liability if your livestock escape to be involved in an accident on a road or to cause property damage or injury.  States' "Fence Law" Statutes

The State Water Resources Control Board amended its Nonpoint Source Management Plan in 1995 to include the California Rangeland Water Quality Management Plan. The Rangeland Plan covers non-irrigated non-forest vegetation and the conservation of riparian areas as well as soils and watersheds qualities. It represents wide support among federal, state, and municipal lands management agencies, the University of California, land trusts, livestock operator associations, Resource Conservation Districts, and elected county officials for voluntary and cooperative approaches to the management of rangelands to protect water quality. The plan specifies the strategic planning, management practices, and monitoring needed to protect water quality from livestock grazing impacts to beneficial uses of water resources. So long as no impacts to beneficial uses are found, and the livestock operation follows the guidelines, no enforcement or further assessment or planning will be required. A 2006 publication by the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources explains how new rules may require dischargers of non-point source pollution to develop plans and implement programs to control pollution and improve water quality.

The California Land Stewardship Institute has recently initiated Fish Friendly Ranching, a program of technical assistance and incentives to ranchers concerned about water quality to create and sustain environmental quality and habitat on their private lands. CLSI staff complete a site visit, including road and creek assessments, and then a ranch plan. The FFR program provides a third-party objective certification with representatives of three resource agencies—the Regional Water Quality Control Board, National Marine Fisheries Service, and County Agricultural Commissioner.

Two excellent sources of information about the management of lands and water quality at horse properties are: the Equine Facilities and Horse Keeping webpage of the Alameda County Conservation Partnership, and the Livestock and Land program of Ecology Action and the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County. 

If you are looking for specific information about plants, such as botany, rarity status, palatability to livestock, and effects of management, you can find a lot in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Plants Data Base, the California Native Plant Society's Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants, and the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System. 

Check out the Invasive Plants webpage of the California Invasive Plant Council as the starting point for specific information about pest plants and their management. 

• Coastal Training Program at the National Estuarine Research Reserve System at Elkhorn Slough
• Alameda County Conservation Partnership workshops

• University of California Davis California Rangelands Research and Information Center
• University of California Oak Woodland Management
• The Reference Materials webpage of the Coastal Training Program at the National Estuarine Research Reserve System at Elkhorn Slough
• Understanding Livestock Grazing Impacts--by Keith Guenther, Grey Hayes, and Sheila Barry
• Hawaii Rangelands--University of Hawaii at Manoa
• Arizona Rangelands--University of Arizona

California-Pacific Section of the Society for Range Management (Cal-Pac). Attend professional meetings with your colleagues, learn about current issues, get involved in rangeland management policy, participate in continuing education, and find a licensed CRM to assist you.

Central Coast Rangeland Coalition (CCRC). This grass-roots coalition includes ranchers, agency managers, agency technical advisors, land trusts, and scientists working with rangelands on the central coast of California. It operates by consensus, and is focused on the needs of professional managers. It is developing a system of indicator monitoring to assess rangeland health and sustainable stewardship to guide improved rangeland management based on science and practical knowledge.

California Rangeland Conservation Coalition (CRCC). This coalition includes ranchers, environmental groups, scientists, and agencies concerned about rangelands, mainly in the Central Valley, Sierra Foothills, and Coast Ranges of California. It focuses mainly on education, policy, and programs to protect and support private working landscapes. It is quickly gaining support among state and federal agencies, and is facilitating new opportunities for conservation easement funding. It holds annual conferences and distributes a comprehensive email newsletter with listings of current events, opportunities, and resources.

• Alameda County Resource Conservation District (Livermore, CA)
• Lisa Bush, rangeland management consultant (Sebastopol, CA)
• California Land Stewardship Institute (Laurel Marcus, HQ in Napa, CA)
• EcoSystems West Consulting Group (Bill Davilla, HQ in Santa Cruz, CA)
• Entomological Consulting Services, Ltd. (Dick Arnold, HQ in Pleasant Hill, CA)
• Sustainable Resources Group International, Inc. (Kristin Duin and Andy Hood, HQ in Honolulu, HI)
• University of California Cooperative Extension (Sheila Barry, office in San Jose, CA)
• University of California Cooperative Extension (Devii Rao, office in H, CA)