Optimization of Grazing Management for Watershed Sediment Control

Grazing on rangelands can increase erosion that is a major source of nonpoint source pollution. Grazing management is important in maintaining vegetation cover, which consequently impacts erosion and sediment yield. This paper uses a representative ranch model to define grazing management from an economic perspective. The model maximizes the profit of a representative ranch that can utilize all grazing lands in a watershed with constraints on forage resources, sustainable utilization, and production technology and sediment yield control objectives. A case study for the Walnut Gulch Watershed in Arizona showed a shift of the spatial distribution of optimal stocking rates with increasing sediment control objectives.