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Grazing
Riparian Areas - General Principles
for Grazing Livestock in Riparian Areas
8.
Be prepared to play an active role in managing your riparian areas.
Success
in maintaining or enhancing riparian health is dependent more on
the degree of operator involvement than on what grazing system is
employed. A recent study of successful riparian grazing operations
throughout Montana found that the only aspect common to each of
these operations was personal involvement on the part of the operator.
This involvement included on-the-ground observation and the flexibility
to adjust operations to changing conditions.
There
are a variety of specific techniques operators can use to translate
the general principles outlined above to on-the-ground operations.
Which ones might be effective will depend on the riparian area in
question and the willingness of the manager to be actively involved
in their implementation, to monitor effects, and to respond accordingly.
For ease of presentation, we have divided these activities into
two broad categories: (1) determination of appropriate seasons for
grazing the riparian area and (2) methods for reducing intensity
of use in the riparian area through control and distribution of
livestock within a pasture.
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