Duration: 10/01/2026 to 09/30/2031

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

 

Statement of Issue and Justification

 Rangelands are natural ecosystems dominated by grasses, forbs, and shrubs that are suitable for grazing, including livestock and wildlife (Robinson et al., 2019). Extensive and vital, rangelands cover as much as 50% of the earth's terrestrial, ice-free surface (Estell et al. 2012, Society for Range Management 2023) and provide important ecosystem services such as food and fiber production, water resources, carbon sequestration, plant and insect biodiversity, and wildlife habitat (Society for Range Management 2023). Rangeland managers across the United States face mounting pressures to diversify operations while maintaining or improving the ecological and economic sustainability of their lands. At the same time, climate variability, invasive species, land conversion, and policy shifts require adaptive and evidence-based management strategies (RREA 2017). The Rangelands Partnership (RP), a 20+ year collaboration between rangeland scientists, librarians, and technology experts from land-grant institutions, addresses these challenges by providing science-based information on the Rangelands Gateway. The RP's online portal supports informed decision-making and promotes resilience in rangeland systems across U.S. Western and Great Plains states and around the world.

 

Stakeholder-driven need: The need for reliable, science-based, accessible information on effective rangeland management practices is widely expressed by ranchers, agency personnel, Extension professionals, and policymakers seeking guidance to manage rangelands sustainably. Stakeholder workshops and Cooperative Extension programs consistently highlight the importance of improving access to actionable, credible information on grazing practices, soil health, biodiversity, drought mitigation, climate, technology, and socio-economic diversification (RREA 2017). The RP directly supports these priorities by providing and maintaining a rangeland knowledge portal called Rangelands Gateway (RG). This website serves as a "one-stop shop" for relevant, accurate, science-based information and tools on rangelands.

 

Importance and consequences of inaction: Without this work, rangeland stakeholders will continue to face barriers to information access, misinformed management decisions, and missed opportunities for innovation and collaboration. Fragmented or outdated resources can lead to ecological degradation, economic losses, and diminished public trust in science. Ensuring that rangeland information is both current and easily discoverable is essential to bridge the gap between research and practice.

 

Technical feasibility: The technical feasibility of this work is strong. The RP builds on a successful 20-year foundation, leveraging the subject-matter expertise of rangeland professionals, the organizational and cataloging skills of librarians, and a technology team. Together, RP members can curate and disseminate digital collections, produce outreach materials, and develop online tools through RG. This collaborative infrastructure is scalable and adaptable to emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enhanced search and accessibility audits.

 

Multistate advantage: Conducting this work as a multistate effort maximizes impact and avoids duplication. Each state brings unique ecological contexts, stakeholder groups, and institutional strengths. The RP model fosters shared responsibility and innovation while enabling localized adaptation of broadly relevant resources. This geographic diversity and cross-disciplinary community enhance both the relevance and reach of the work.

 

Anticipated impacts: Successfully completing this work will improve access to science-based information, inform rangeland management decisions, enhance ecological outcomes, and increase resilience of rangeland-based livelihoods. It will also strengthen the rangeland profession's capacity to communicate with the public and policymakers, support education and outreach, and prepare the next generation of land stewards. By combining rangeland science with the information science of librarianship, the RP exemplifies the kind of interdisciplinary collaboration needed to meet 21st-century land management challenges.

Related, Current and Previous Work

Related, Current, and Previous Work

 

The RP successfully applied for WERA status in 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021. An original aim was to provide stakeholders with electronic access to the full scope of information in the field of rangeland ecology, management, and conservation. To accomplish this, the RP created a database of quality, science-based rangeland information. Today, the RG database allows users to discover 27,000+ journal articles, websites, images, databases, videos, maps, reports, decision-making tools, and learning modules. These resources are useful for research, teaching, and practical field applications for rangeland management. While knowledge preservation and sharing remain central to the RP, the organization has expanded to meet new demands. As a community of practice, our goal is to broaden members' knowledge through professional development opportunities and to build relationships across disciplines and state boundaries. This collaborative network has led to innovation in Extension programming across the U.S. Western and Great Plains regions, as well as to the continued development of rangeland knowledge on RG. The RP and its educational and outreach activities and products serve increasingly diverse audiences, including rangeland researchers, Extension professionals, ranchers, private and public land managers, policy makers, teachers, students, and the interested public.

 

The RP continues to grow in membership and in success in securing funding for programs and projects. Membership has steadily increased over time despite retirements. The initial 2006-2011 WERA listed 13 rangeland professionals and 6 librarians from 11 institutions, while the 2021-2026 WERA listed 30 rangeland professionals, 13 librarians, and one technology expert from 18 institutions. The RP community of practice collaborated to secure approximately $3,000,000 in competitive extramural funding between 2021 and 2026 from programs such as the Conservation Innovation Grant, the Renewable Resources Extension Act, the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and the Western Extension Risk Management Education. Projects between 2021-2026 included: (1) RangeDocs, a specialized search platform for rangeland technical references, (2) RangeDocs outreach, (3) RangeDocs AI-enhanced search functionality, (4) Stocksmart, a grazing management decision support tool, (5) JournalMap, a place-based search platform, (6) online communication professional development, (7) advanced communication training (8) technology professional development, (9) virtual fence education, tools, and training, (10) the Art of Range podcast, and (11) web-based conference series to enhance rangeland Extension programming. This success demonstrates the value of the RP, where rangeland professionals and librarians collaborate to develop tools and resources that deliver sustainable rangeland management information to the broader community.

 

The rangeland community continues to navigate increased ecological, economic, and social pressures that demand timely, credible, and accessible information. Ongoing climate variability, invasive species, land conversion, and policy changes make adaptive, evidence-based management more critical than ever. Without sustained investment in the RP and RG, stakeholders will continue to encounter fragmented or outdated resources, leading to misinformed decisions, missed opportunities for innovation, and unnecessary ecological and economic losses. Continuing the RP ensures that rangeland information remains current, discoverable, and actionable, strengthening the connection between research, on-the-ground practice, and public trust in science.

 

Objectives

1. 1. Strengthen the Rangelands Partnership community
   
2. 2. Promote and grow the Rangelands Partnership’s online information portal, Rangelands Gateway
   
3. 3. Advance the performance of Rangelands Gateway
   

Methods

The RP operates as a coordinated, multistate collaboration involving rangeland professionals, librarians, and technology experts from participating states and partner organizations. Operational directions and activity priorities are set collectively through member surveys, virtual meetings, work sessions, and in-depth annual meeting discussions. This process ensures that members maintain shared ownership of goals, work plans, and deliverables. Throughout the year, members coordinate activities through regular virtual meetings, email exchanges, and a centralized listserv, with decisions and updates further reinforced via a monthly newsletter. These communication channels enable transparent joint planning, the sharing of expertise and data, and the coordination of deliverable timelines across states.

 

The 2026-2031 WERA will focus on three primary objectives: (1) strengthening the RP community, (2) promoting and growing the RG information portal, and (3) advancing RG’s search performance.

 

Strengthening the RP community: This objective ensures sustained professional growth, relationship-building, and collaboration across RP members.

 

• Professional development: Members plan and host RP Roundups (topic-focused virtual meetings), develop and circulate member-supplied newsletter articles, organize technology-focused webinars, and provide communication coursework for skill-building. Specialized training sessions (e.g., communication and technology webinars) are recorded and archived for later access. All training opportunities are promoted across the listserv to reach members in multiple states, enabling broad participation.
• Relationship building: The RP annual meeting serves as the central in-person networking experience, fostering cross-state knowledge exchange. The Executive Committee and coordination team (EC+) meet regularly to maintain member relationships and coordinate efforts. Members share regional updates through the newsletter, ensuring awareness of work across the Western and Great Plains. States with currently inactive members (e.g., Utah, Montana, and Nevada) are specifically targeted for outreach and re-engagement through personal contact and meeting invitations.
• Collaborative initiatives: Members work together to develop multistate grant proposals, supply letters of support, and serve on advisory boards for multi-institutional projects. Members maintain strategic partnerships with organizations such as the Society for Range Management (SRM) and the United States Agricultural Information Network (USAIN), and coordinate sessions at conferences as appropriate.

 

Promoting and growing RG: Rangelands Gateway is a central, open-access portal of rangeland information, maintained through multistate contributions of resources, technical input, and content curation.

 

• Increase visibility of online resources: Members create outreach materials to highlight newly added content and existing collections, and share them via social media, newsletters, and conference presentations.
• Expand resources and collections through collaboration: New resource pages are developed as projects are funded, with joint authorship from rangeland professionals and librarians. Possible expansions include establishing an AI technology hub, adding learning modules, and creating new thematic collections (e.g., arts-based education materials, SRM meeting abstracts, back issues of SRM journals, International Rangeland Congress proceedings, Grassland Society of Southern Africa abstracts, policy and law). Members contribute to updating existing sections and state-specific pages, ensuring accuracy and inclusion of emerging research.

 

Advancing RG performance: Technical upgrades are planned and executed collaboratively by the RP technology team, leveraging member expertise in website development, data management, and digital accessibility.

 

• Explore the integration of AI tools: Members will jointly identify and test AI applications to enhance search functions, resource tagging, user navigation, and evaluation results to support decision-making.
• Conduct a comprehensive web accessibility audit: This process will involve coordinated review by members trained in accessibility standards, supplemented by external audits when necessary.
• Implement usability, inclusivity, and discoverability improvements: Changes identified through audits, user feedback, and analytics will be prioritized and jointly implemented to ensure updates benefit the RP community and its audiences.

 

Coordination and data sharing: All objectives are carried out through coordinated virtual meetings, project management by the EC+, and an open exchange of resources via the RP listserv, newsletter, and shared drives. Progress is summarized at the annual meeting in a multistate context, enabling members to compare findings, identify gaps, and refine activities. Through these methods, the RP ensures that all objectives are met in a collaborative, transparent, and impact-driven manner, leveraging the strengths of its diverse membership to benefit the wider rangeland community.

Measurement of Progress and Results

Outputs

• Outputs for strengthening the RP community include: Comments: • A sustained schedule of RP Roundups (virtual topic-based discussions) recorded and archived for future viewing. • Member-generated newsletter articles capturing emerging research, successful management practices, and case studies. • Technology webinars and communication coursework with associated instructional materials for enhanced skill-building. Topics may focus on a rangeland technology hub to build new technology capacity (e.g., AI, virtual fence, virtual and augmented reality, gaming). • Engage or re-engage states not recently involved (e.g., Utah, Montana, Nevada). • Records of collaborative grant proposals, advisory board participation, and formal letters of support. • Revise and broaden language in RP documents and on RG to include more types of librarians as many institutions shift to functional librarians (e.g., web, GIS, makerspaces, instruction, collections, etc.).
• Outputs for promoting and growing RG include: Comments: • Increase digital collections, such as arts-based education resources, Art of Range Podcast, SRM meeting abstracts, SRM journal back issues, International Rangeland Congress conference proceedings, and Grassland Society of Southern Africa abstracts. • Expand grey literature (e.g., Extension bulletins, Experiment Station documents, infographics, white papers, etc.) in the RG database. • Digitize historic rangeland documents and add to RG to preserve information. • Produce outreach materials and infographics showcasing content for social media, conference presentations, and educational use. • Promote collaborative initiatives and collaborative grant-funded projects. • Curate and create resources for AI literacy and technology capacity for rangeland professionals. • Generate analytics reports documenting changes in resource access and user engagement.
• Outputs for advancing the performance of RG include: Comments: • Improved search functionality using AI-enhanced search. • Complete a web accessibility audit report with prioritized recommendations. • Conduct user experience testing for RG and metadata records. • Review metadata quality and authority control.

Outcomes or Projected Impacts

• The RP’s activities will lead to increased knowledge sharing among rangeland professionals, librarians, and technology specialists across multiple states, resulting in higher quality, more relevant, and more accessible rangeland information. Expanded use of RG by land managers, researchers, educators, and policymakers through improved visibility, content depth, and technical usability. Faster adoption of emerging research and best practices by stakeholders due to the timely delivery of information through RP members and communications channels. Greater engagement from historically inactive states, broadening the reach and representativeness of the RP network. • Economic: Improved decision-making for ranchers and land managers based on accessible, science-based information can lead to reduced costs, better grazing strategies, and increased operational sustainability. • Environmental: Dissemination of rangeland management best practices supports biodiversity, soil health, and climate resilience. • Social: Strengthened multistate professional relationships foster trust, cross-state collaboration, and improved service delivery to rural communities. • Educational: Enhanced accessibility and usability of RG content benefits students, educators, and Extension professionals, creating a more informed next generation of rangeland stewards. These outcomes and impacts will be evaluated through analytics, user surveys, participant feedback from events, and documentation of collaborative projects initiated through RP connections.

Milestones

(2027):• Initiate communication professional development training course. • Host technology-focused webinars. • Add at least one new collection (e.g., art-based education, conference proceedings) and promote with outreach materials. • Adjust language across RP documents and RG to broaden the language to make the RP more accessible to a wider range of librarians at member institutions, especially institutions without subject librarians. • Maintain regular newsletters, listserv communications, and virtual work sessions. • Update RG content to reflect emerging knowledge. • Host at least two RP Roundups. • Host annual meeting showcasing project outputs, with presentations from collaborating states and partner organizations. • Improve search functionality (e.g., authority control, quality control, etc.) • Complete yearly WERA reporting and publish a synthesis report summarizing outcomes, impacts, and lessons learned.

(2028):• Add at least one new collection (e.g., art-based education, conference proceedings) and promote with outreach materials. • Launch targeted outreach in inactive states, especially focused on librarians. • Conduct web accessibility audit. • Produce at least one collaborative grant proposal involving multiple states. • Maintain regular newsletters, listserv communications, and virtual work sessions. • Update RG content to reflect emerging knowledge. • Host at least two RP Roundups. • Host annual meeting showcasing project outputs, with presentations from collaborating states and partner organizations. • Improve search functionality (e.g., authority control, quality control, etc.) • Complete yearly WERA reporting and publish a synthesis report summarizing outcomes, impacts, and lessons learned.

(2029):• Complete web accessibility audit and prioritize recommendations. • Expand collections by two additional themes or conference proceedings. • Achieve participation from at least two previously inactive states. • Initiate user experience testing. • Maintain regular newsletters, listserv communications, and virtual work sessions. • Update RG content to reflect emerging knowledge. • Host at least two RP Roundups. • Host annual meeting showcasing project outputs, with presentations from collaborating states and partner organizations. • Improve search functionality (e.g., authority control, quality control, etc.) • Complete yearly WERA reporting and publish a synthesis report summarizing outcomes, impacts, and lessons learned.

(2030):• Implement changes based on web accessibility audit. • Add content to existing collections (e.g., digitized rangeland content, grey literature) and promote with outreach materials. • Create resources for AI literacy and technology capacity for rangeland professionals. • Update RG based on user experience testing. • Maintain regular newsletters, listserv communications, and virtual work sessions. • Update RG content to reflect emerging knowledge. • Host at least two RP Roundups. • Host annual meeting showcasing project outputs, with presentations from collaborating states and partner organizations. • Improve search functionality (e.g., authority control, quality control, etc.) • Complete yearly WERA reporting and publish a synthesis report summarizing outcomes, impacts, and lessons learned.

(2031):• All resources in RG fully meet accessibility standards. • Participation from all 19 Western and Great Plains states. • Produce at least one new collaborative grant proposal involving multiple states. • Strategic planning for WERA 1008: October 2031 to September 2036. • Maintain regular newsletters, listserv communications, and virtual work sessions. • Update RG content to reflect emerging knowledge. • Host at least two RP Roundups. • Host annual meeting showcasing project outputs, with presentations from collaborating states and partner organizations. • Improve search functionality (e.g., authority control, quality control, etc.) • Complete yearly WERA reporting and publish a synthesis report summarizing outcomes, impacts, and lessons learned.

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Outreach Plan

The RP will disseminate project results through a combination of professional presentations, online resources, publications, and targeted stakeholder engagement. Key venues include the Society for Range Management annual meeting, journals (e.g., Rangelands), and collaborative sessions with allied organizations. Additionally, other products (e.g., technical briefs, case studies, and infographics) will be published on RG and shared via newsletter. All digital content will be optimized for accessibility, following recommendations from a planned web accessibility audit, and will include plain-language summaries to ensure broad usability. Workshops, webinars (e.g., RP Roundups, technology trainings, communication learning modules), and annual meetings will serve as interactive forums for sharing findings with rangeland professionals, land managers, Extension personnel, and educators. When possible, recordings and materials will be archived for on-demand access. Social media channels, targeted email lists, and cross-promotion with partner organizations will ensure timely access to results. Analytics will be monitored to identify gaps in reach and engagement. By integrating in-person, virtual, and asynchronous formats, the RP will ensure that outputs and lessons learned are widely accessible, relevant, and actionable across diverse geographies, professional networks, and stakeholder groups. Collectively, these activities will maximize the impact of this multistate collaborative effort.

Organization/Governance

Governance is guided by the Rangelands Partnership Charter and Bylaws, revised in 2023, that outline the RP’s internal operational processes. This includes electing officers to the Executive Committee: chair, vice-chair, and secretary. The treasurer is an ongoing permanent position for logistical reasons. One officer is elected each year at the annual meeting to serve a three-year rotating term. Leadership typically alternates between librarians and rangeland professionals. The Executive Committee, together with a core team with historical knowledge, handles decision-making on behalf of the full membership when appropriate. More complex matters, or those that benefit from broader input, are presented to the full membership via surveys at the annual meeting or email, as appropriate. The RP convenes an annual meeting to share updates, participate in training, support site development and planning, and meet obligations tied to various collaborative, externally funded grant projects. Most members attend in person or via a video conference link.

Literature Cited

Estell, R.E., K.M. Havstad, A.F. Cibils, E.L. Fredrickson, D.M. Anderson, T.S. Schrader, and D.K. James. Increasing shrub use by livestock in a world with less grass. Rangeland Ecol. Manage. 65:553-562 (2012).

Maczko, K.A., L.D. Bryant, D.W., Thompson, S.J., Borchard. 2004. Putting the pieces together: assessing social, ecological, and economic rangeland sustainability. Rangelands 26: 3-12.

Reeves, M. C., Krebs, M., Leinwand, I., Theobald, D. M., & Mitchell, J. E. (2018). Rangelands on the Edge: Quantifying the modification, fragmentation, and future residential development of U.S. rangelands. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-382. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 31 p.

RREA 2017. Sustaining the Nation’s Forest & Rangeland Resources for Future Generations. Renewable Resource Extension Act Strategic Plan for the State-Federal Partnership 2018-2022. https://rangelandsgateway.org/sites/default/files/rreasp/RREA%20Strategic%20Plan%202018-2022.pdf

Robinson, N. P., Allred, B. W., Naugle, D. E., & Jones, M. O. Patterns of rangeland productivity and land ownership: Implications for conservation and management. Ecological Applications 29, e01862 (2019).

Society for Range Management. Rangeland ecosystem services: Connecting nature and people. A society for Range Management Task Force Report (2023).

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions