INTRODUCTION TO WYOMING RANGELANDS

Wyoming is truly a rangeland state! Around 85% of Wyoming is considered rangeland. “Great”, you say “but what is rangeland”? It is a type of land that is dominated by some mix of mostly native grasses, forbs (broad leaf plants / wildflowers) and shrubs. Some woodlands are considered rangelands too, particularly if they have relatively open canopies and support a significant understory of grasses, forbs and shrubs.

Notice that the definition contains no mention of a particular land use. This is important – rangelands are defined by the vegetation they support, NOT by how they are used. The vegetation map below represents the distribution of major vegetation types in Wyoming. Much of the darker green areas are occupied by forests rather than rangeland. However, this category does include alpine tundra, aspen forests and ponderosa pine forests which are often considered rangelands.

The other four categories include different types of rangelands. Within these categories, some lands have been converted to cultivated farmland, cities, developments or otherwise changed to something else and those conversions are not represented on this map.

Shortly you will be able to click on the different vegetation types in the legend below the map to learn more about different Wyoming Rangelands!