Monitoring Arizona Rangelands:

As part of the evaluation, participants were also asked about the future of Extension and monitoring programs. Ranchers would like more training on how to interpret and use the monitoring data in their day-to-day management. Several ranchers also suggested changes in how Extension materials were disseminated, including revising the reports so they are more accessible to a lay audience and providing more frequent feedback on monitoring results.

Agency staff would like Extension to continue providing workshops that bring multiple agencies and groups together because having Extension, ranchers, USFS, BLM, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and Arizona State Land Department all around the same table greatly helped with keeping everyone on the same page.

• USFS staff expressed they valued the Reading the Range program and the consistency it brought to the data. The staff expressed that they wanted to ensure the program continued and even expanded. They indicated more monitoring points might be needed to better understand pasture-level changes but recognized this might not be feasible with current staffing. In addition, they would like help with riparian management and monitoring and with browse monitoring.

• BLM staff noted that changes are coming in regards to BLM monitoring protocols which might affect the monitoring program. BLM is moving towards nationwide implementation of Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring protocols, which will focus more on the landscape-level. Since completion of this evaluation BLM management objectives have indeed changed, unfortunately leading to the end of cooperative monitoring with Kingman, Yuma, and Safford Field Offices.

Extension faculty and staff involved in these programs will build on the success encouraging the use of multiple monitoring methods, providing valuable and reliable data and expertise, and facilitating a productive dialogue between agencies and ranchers.

• Reading the Range will be expanded to cover all grazing allotments on the Tonto National Forest by 2023.

• ACRMP has expanded to cover three National Forests (Kaibab, Coconino, and Prescott) as of fall 2020.

• The Southeastern Arizona program has expanded to include the Clifton Ranger District of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

Extension will continue to provide education on relevant and requested topics to agency staff and ranchers, with a focus on creating a place for various stakeholders to come together to talk about issues facing rangelands.