How can AUMs be the same under all alternatives? Aren there going to be any changes in the way livestock are managed?
Scientists were not able to accurately predict at the broad scale how AUMs would vary by alternative. The alternatives do differ with respect to livestock management, a category that includes such elements as number of livestock, grazing systems, season of use (length and timing), and the like. (The assumptions regarding livestock management are presented on table 3-12; the levels of livestock management for each alternative can be seen on table 3-11.) Changes in livestock grazing management that would be required to achieve objectives and standards will not necessarily require changes in AUMs. Furthermore, the number of AUMs a permittee might choose to use can be affected by other factors, such as economic feasibility. Therefore, implementation of the objectives and standards does not present a clear picture of how AUMs might change by alternative.
