Arizona Permittee and Land Management Agency Employee Attitudes Toward Rangeland Monitoring by Permittees
Abstract
Ongoing conflicts over the management of western rangelands can be attributed in part to the lack of reliable information aboutcurrent ecological conditions and their causes due, in turn, to insufficient monitoring. To meet the monitoring shortfall, landmanagement agencies increasingly are enlisting permittees to monitor their grazing allotments. We surveyed grazing permitteesin 5 Arizona counties and land management agency employees throughout Arizona to compare their attitudes toward permitteemonitoring on public rangelands, the role of government in rangeland management, rangeland conditions in Arizona, and thecredibility of information sources about rangelands. Permittees and agency employees differed in most of the attitudes measuredby our survey. However, both populations agreed that permittees should participate in monitoring their allotments, and manyrespondents agreed with making permittee monitoring mandatory. Many respondents in both groups also agreed thatcollaboration can be beneficial. Joint monitoring, which can be considered a type of ‘‘joint fact-finding,’’ may help improveagency–permittee relationships and bridge the gap in attitudes and underlying values. Permittee-monitoring programs deservecareful evaluation to determine their impacts on social relationships, management decisions, and ecological conditions