Rangeland

Rangeland refers to a large, mostly unimproved section of land that is predominantly used for livestock grazing. This is land on which the natural vegetation is dominated by native grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, and shrubs. Rangeland also consists of areas seeded to native or adapted introduced species that are managed like native vegetation. Rangelands include natural grasslands, savannas, shrublands, many deserts, tundra, alpine communities, coastal marshes, and wet meadows. Rangeland is generally arid, semi-arid, sub-humid or otherwise unsuitable for farming.

In the United States, around 399 million acres (1,610,000 km²) of rangeland are privately owned. The Bureau of Land Management manages about 167 million acres (676,000 km²) of publicly owned rangeland, with the United States Forest Service managing approximately 95 million acres (380,000 km²) more. Ranchers may lease portions of this public rangeland and pay a fee based on the number and type of livestock and the period for which they are on the land. Many western states have open range laws. In these states, all land, both public and private, is designated as open range unless it is within city limits. In open range, it becomes the responsibility of the land owner to keep unwanted livestock off their land and the livestock owner is not liable for any damage caused by the livestock.

In Australia, pastoral leases may be held over crown land and beef cattle or sheep grazed on large holdings called Sheep stations or Cattle stations.