Public Rangelands

Some Riparian Areas Restored but Widespread Improvement Will Be Slow Gao ID: RCED-88-105 June 30, 1988

In response to a congressional request, GAO discussed federal efforts to restore degraded riparian areas on public rangelands and the extent of areas still needing improvement.

GAO reviewed 22 public rangelands in 10 western states, and found that: (1) the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service successfully restored a number of degraded riparian areas through improved livestock management, which allowed vegetation to grow; (2) BLM and the Forest Service either temporarily restricted grazing in degraded areas or built fences to keep livestock away from the areas until vegetation improved; (3) although many ranchers opposed the restoration efforts, others realized the benefits to their operations; and (4) restoration of the riparian areas required specific knowledge and skills of wildlife and fisheries biologists, hydrologists, range conservationists, and soil scientists. GAO also found that, although there are still large areas that need restoration, future efforts could be hampered by: (1) shortages of skilled staff due to the agencies' budgetary restraints; (2) opposition from ranchers; and (3) a lack of cohesive management support from BLM and the Forest Service.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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