Date

2001

Document Type

Capstone Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Department

Science & Environmental Policy

Abstract

n Ft. Ord, invasive weeds have become a serious problem and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has taken action to battle the invasive weeds. There are a number of different methods or tools for dealing with invasive weeds. One tool for battling invasive weeds is the use of grazing. When the sheep graze, they need a place to sleep as well, this is where the sheep bed. Bedding sites are sites that experience the most intense grazing which could lead to further infestations of invasive weeds. This project found alternative bedding sites for the grazing sheep on Ft. Ord grasslands so that the sheep are not bedding in the same sites throughout the grazing period. This was accomplished using existing bedding data, and finding commonalties between bedding sites using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This allowed me to determine where similar, alternate sites would be located. New bedding sites were overlaid on top of current invasive weed sites to find which of the new bedding sites are close to or on top of invasive weed sites. There were originally 17 bedding sites and 17 new and alternate bedding sites were created. The information that I have obtained has been given to Ft. Ord BLM to help them make better land management decisions on where the sheep will bed in the future and where they will have the greatest impact on stopping the spread of non-native invasive weeds.

Comments

Capstone Project (B.S.) Earth Systems Science & Policy Institute

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