Beef cattle ranching and farming is a major agricultural industry in the United States that manages an estimated 147 million ha of private land and uses approximately 92% of forage authorized for grazing on federal rangelands. Rangelands, as working landscapes, sustain beef cattle ranching while providing habitat for wildlife, recreation, and open space amenities, as well as spiritual and cultural values that define a way of life. Historically, discussions regarding the economics of beef cattle ranching have focused primarily on the value of beef production but have more recently expanded to consider related ecosystem services. A systematic search of peer-reviewed literature published between 1998 and 2018 found 154 articles that considered ecosystem services from rangelands/grasslands. Of these, only two articles (1%) provided an in-depth economic valuation (monetary measure) of ecosystem services in the United States. To fill this knowledge gap, we primarily used publicly available data to conduct an economic valuation of major ecosystem services associated with beef cattle production in the United States at both the national and state levels. We find that over 186 million ha were actively grazed by beef cattle ranches and farms in the United States in 2017. We estimate the economic value of this land use to be $17.5 billion for wildlife recreation, $3.8 billion for forage production, and $3.2 billion for other ecosystem services related to the conservation of biodiversity—a combined total of $24.5 billion. Ecosystem services from federal rangelands in 16 western states accounted for 35% of the total value. Ecosystem services per beef cow and per kilogram of retail beef were estimated to be $1,043.35 and $2.74, respectively. More studies like these are needed to inform decision-makers at the industry, land management, and federal levels to ensure that the conservation, improvement, and restoration of these ecosystem services are considered in future management and research efforts.

Rangelands around the globe are experiencing management challenges associated with existing and emerging stressors, including more frequent and severe fires, woody species expansion, annual grass invasion, heavy, repeated growing season grazing, and climate change. Disturbance is an essential part of rangeland systems. Yet climate change is likely to affect rangelands most directly by increasing the likelihood, severity, and extent of long term, negative impacts from disturbance. We conducted a synthesis of key vulnerabilities to climate change for Northwest US rangelands. These rangelands are projected to become warmer and drier this century, with episodes of more extreme droughts and higher likelihood of more severe fires affecting larger areas. Many of the vulnerabilities identified in our synthesis, such as increased frequency of fire and invasive grass proliferation, can have lasting effects, leading to “undesirable transformations” (substantial and persistent changes in vegetation composition and reductions in ecosystem services). For example, larger, more severe fires have led to the rapid loss of critical Greater sage-grouse habitat and diminished forage production capacity for livestock in some areas, lowering provisioning of ecosystem services, increasing fire management costs, and impacting rural livelihoods. Rangeland managers need guidance connecting climate change projections to on-the-ground management actions. We conclude from our synthesis of climate change vulnerabilities that supporting rangeland recovery is an important climate adaptation approach on Northwest rangelands. Proactive climate adaptation strategies (e.g., supporting soil health and vegetation) and example practices (e.g., establishing climate-adapted perennial plant species) are presented according to key action areas: prepare for, respond to, and recover from disturbance. Identifying specific adaptation needs at more local scales, like the management unit level, may be further refined through proactive planning and experimentation in collaborative settings that allow for resource pooling and foster learning.