Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable

1. Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable

2. Purpose Today • Introduce the Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable • Sustainability Background • Participants • Process • Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Rangelands • Briefly Outline Future Plans

3. Sustainability is defined with respect to people.

4. Sustainable Development “…development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987

5. Sustainable Rangeland Ecosystems

6. Sustainable Productive Capacity

7. Sustainable Communities and Economies

8. International Background • Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, 1992 • Climate change • Biological diversity • Forest principles • Agenda 21 – plan for achieving sustainable development in the 21st century.

9. International Background • 1993 – International seminar on sustainable development of boreal and temperate forest in Montreal. • Working group on criteria and indicators for the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forest – the Montreal Process. • 1995 Santiago Declaration – 7 Criteria and 67 Indicators – temperate and boreal forests.

10. U. S. Background • Roundtable on Sustainable Forests • Sustainable Minerals Roundtable • 1999 – First meeting on Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable. • 2001 – First meeting of the Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable.

11. Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable A stakeholders’ process for identifying a set of criteria and indicators (C&I) for assessing rangeland sustainability. The C&I describe individual elements to determine trends in resource conditions, management, economic benefits, and social values derived from rangelands.

12. SRR Vision We envision a future in which: Rangelands in the US provide a desired mix of economic, ecological, and social benefits to current and future generations There are widely accepted and used criteria and indicators for monitoring and assessing the economic, social, and ecological sustainability of rangelands .

13. SRR Mission The SRR will promote social, ecological, and economic sustainability of rangelands through the development and widespread use of the criteria and indicators for rangeland assessments, and by providing a forum for dialogue on sustainability of rangelands.

14. SRR Guiding Principles • Collectively, indicators should guide monitoring efforts to measure rangeland sustainability in the U.S. at the national scale. Indicators should guide monitoring efforts at multiple scales.

15. SRR Guiding Principles • Ensure that the indicators employ the appropriate temporal and spatial scales for assessing the criteria. • Collectively, C&I will address social, ecological, and economic aspects of sustainability.

16. SRR Guiding Principles • Use a C&I framework as a common language and operational framework for defining and assessing sustainability. Begin by considering C&I of SFR.

17. SRR Guiding Principles • Review and consider other indicator initiatives. • Numerous political questions related to rangelands. We will focus on vision-mission agreed to by SRR.

18. SRR Guiding Principles • Process will feature outreach to stakeholders, open dialogue, and respect for differing opinions. • The SRR will be supportive of and compatible with improved on-the-ground management of rangelands.

19. Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable Participants • Over 50 organizations have had representation; over 100 individuals • Agencies – Federal, State, Local • Professional Organizations • Universities • Conservation Organizations • Producer groups

20. Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable • Open, positive, future-focused • Values and respects all opinions and contributions of participants • The group determines the outcomes • Facilitated and interactive • Uses Delphi process between meetings

21. Facilitation • Facilitator has experience with Sustainable Minerals Roundtable • Facilitator has over 30 years experience with Forest Service • Facilitator works closely with SRR leadership • Has been a vital part of the SRR process

22. Collaborative Delphi • Continues to develop ideas between meetings • Open-ended questions in an iterative process • Individual responses are anonymous • Keeps participants engaged in SRR

23. SRR Meetings • 4 in 2001, 5 in 2002, 3 in 2003 • Denver, Salt Lake City, Reno, San Antonio, Tucson, Washington DC, Billings, San Diego, Fort Meyers, Albuquerque, Jackson Hole, Portland • Local participants • Phoenix Planning Meeting, Dec. 2002 • Boise, October 2003

24. SRR Organization • Steering Committee • Criterion Groups • Goal Groups • Working Groups – Scale, Definitions, Examples • Ad hoc groups for special events • SRR Staff

25. SRR Team • SRR Co-Conveners: • Tom Bartlett, Colorado State University • John Mitchell, Rocky Mountain Research Station, FS • Facilitator: Lou Romero, de LaPorte & Assoc • Kristie Maczko, Rocky Mountain Station • Hotel arrangements • Notes • Communications

26. SRR Team • Helen Rowe, Colorado State University • Delphi Process • Web page • Communications

27. SRR Team • Steering Committee • Co-Chairs: Tom Bartlett and John Mitchell • Steve Borchard, WO, BLM • Lori Hidinger, ESA • Dennis Thompson, NRCS • Larry Bryant, WO, FS • Paul Geissler, USGS • Ex-officio – Kristie Maczko, Helen Rowe

28. SRR Support • Time and effort of all individuals and organizations participating. • USDA Forest Service • Colorado State University • Bureau of Land Management • U.S. Geological Survey • Additional partners

29. SRR Outreach Efforts • Presentation, NCBA, Denver, August 2001 • Symposium at Society for Range Management, Kansas City, Jan. 2002 • Washington, DC Briefing, May 2002 • Panel at NCBA, Reno, July, 2002 • Indicator Workshop at Ecological Society of America, Tucson, August 2002 • Tradeshow, American Farm Bureau, Tampa, Jan. 2003

30. SRR Outreach Efforts • Workshop on Data Sets at Society for Range Management, Casper, Feb. 2003 • Booth, American Farmland Trust, Monterey, March 2003 • Meetings, Seminars, Luncheon, Reception, Washington DC, May 2003 • International Rangeland Congress, Durbin, South Africa, July 2003

31. SRR Outreach Efforts • Evening Session, Ecological Society of America, Savannah, August 2003 • Presentation & Tradeshow, Grazing Conference, Nashville, Dec. 2003

32. SRR Criteria & Indicators • Criteria and indicators described here represent the current development. • The indicators may be refined as the SRR advances towards a widely accepted set for monitoring and assessing rangeland sustainability.

33. SRR Criteria • Conservation and Maintenance of Soil and Water Resources • Conservation and Maintenance of Plant and Animal Resources on Rangelands • Maintenance of Productive Capacity on Rangeland Ecosystems

34. SRR Criteria • Maintenance and Enhancement of Multiple Economic and Social Benefits to Current and Future Generations • Legal, Institutional, and Economic Framework for Rangeland Conservation and Sustainable Management

35. Future Direction: Five Goals • Continue criteria and indicator development and refinement, including data sets • Coordination • Enhanced outreach • Sustainability research • Funding and support