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<br />• <br />., <br />UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE <br />SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE <br />COLORADO <br />STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS <br />BRUSH MANAGEMENT (Ac.) 3Z4 1/ <br /> <br /> <br />Standard <br />Definition <br />Managing and manipulating stands of <br />brush on rangeland, pastureland, and <br />recreation and wildlife areas by <br />mechanical, chemical, or biological <br />means or by prescribed burning. <br />(Includes reducing excess brush to <br />restore natural plant community <br />balance and manipulating brush <br />stands through selective and pat- <br />terned treatments to meet specific <br />needs of the land and objectives of <br />the land user.) <br />Purpose <br />To improve or restore a quality <br />plant cover to (1) reduce sediment <br />and improve water quality, (2) in- <br />crease quality and production of <br />desirable plants for Zivestock and <br />wildlife, (3) maintain or increase <br />wildlife habitat values, (4) en- <br />hance esthetic and recreation qual- <br />ities, (s) maintain open Land, and <br />(6) protect Life and property. <br />Conditions where practice applies <br />(I) On brush-infested Zand having <br />the potential to produce desirable <br />native of adapted forage plants; <br />(2) where adjustments in grazing <br />management alone will not restore <br />the kind of plant cover needed to <br />attain conservation objectives <br />within a reasonable time; (J) whereV <br />brush management wi1Z improve areas <br />for wildlife, recreation, or <br />natural beauty; (4) where control <br />TG flotice 223 <br />Technical Guide <br />Section IV <br />A11 Field Offices <br />May 1984 <br />of woody phreatophytes is necessary <br />to cronserve moisture; or (5) where a <br />reduction of brush is necessary to <br />the safety of life and property in <br />areas of high wildfire hazard. <br />Planning considerations <br />Brush Management objectives and pro- <br />cedures may be different for differ- <br />ent kinds of land and for different <br />uses of the land. For example: <br />1. If primary use of rangeland is <br />for domestic livestock, the objec- <br />tive may be to manipulate numbers, <br />species, aid distribution of brush <br />to approximate that of na to raZ or <br />climax conditions for the site. If <br />use is also for wildlife, the <br />objective may be to maintain more <br />brush than is natural to the site <br />and to manage the brush in a pattern <br />on the Land that favors both <br />Livestock and wildlife. <br />2. The objective on native pasture <br />may be to maintain a plant community <br />that is not natural to the site but <br />drat provides soil protection and <br />benefits the uses planned for the <br />Land. <br />1/ Drush, as used in this standard, <br />includes woody halfshrubs, shrubs, <br />and trees that invade areas on which <br />they are not part of the natural <br />(climax) plant community or that <br />occur in amounts significantly in <br />excess of that natural to the site. <br />Colorado, SCS, .May 1984 <br />