Rangeland Health was based on an evaluation following the procedures outlined in Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, Version 3 (Bureau of Land Management Technical Reference 1734-6). Rangeland Health is the degree to which the integrity of the soil, vegetation, water, and air, as well as the ecological processes of the rangeland ecosystem are balanced and sustained. Seventeen ecological indicators of rangeland health are used to evaluate three attributes: soil stability, hydrologic function, and integrity of the biotic community. These three attributes collectively define rangeland health. Individual assessment sites are compared to an ecological reference area (ERA). Their departure from this type site is then assessed in terms of three attributes.

Soil/site stability is the capacity of a site to limit redistribution and loss of soil resources (including nutrients and organic matter) by wind and water. Soil/site stability is based on soil movement.

• A site with little or no movement of soil is characterized as None to Slight
• A site that has had some physical impact or vegetative cover removal that allows some soil erosion is characterized as Moderate.
• A site that is not stable, has active rill, sheet, or gully erosion is characterized as Extreme.

Hydrologic function is the capacity of the site to capture, store, and safely release water from rainfall, run-off, and snowmelt; to resist a reduction in this capacity; and to recover this capacity following degradation. Hydrologic function is based on plant-water and soil-water relationships.

• A site from which little or no water leaves is characterized as None to Slight.
• A site where some soil erosion is occurring and some water leaves the site is characterized as Moderate.
• A site where active erosion is occurring with little infiltration is characterized as Extreme.

Biotic integrity (or Integrity of the Biotic community) is the capacity of a site to support characteristic functional and structural communities in the context of normal variability; to resist loss of this function and structure due to a disturbance; and to recover following such disturbance. Integrity of the biotic community is a measure of the vegetative health of a site.

• A site with intact vegetative components is characterized as None to Slight.
• A site where some of the vegetative components are missing or altered is characterized as Moderate.
• A site that is missing major components of the plant community is characterized as Extreme.

Reference
Pellant, Mike, David A. Pyke, Patrick Shaver, and Jeffrey E. Herrick
2000 Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, Version 3. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, National Science and Technology Center, Technical Reference 1734-6. Denver.