BLM Arizona installs virtual fencing to enhance rangeland management and protect sensitive species

The Bureau of Land Management’s Hassayampa Field Office recently installed an innovative way for ranchers to manage livestock on public lands and improve rangeland health while reducing staffing and supply costs associated with fences on grazing allotments. 

In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, the BLM planned and installed five virtual fence towers in a jointly managed grazing allotment in the Agua Fria National Monument. Virtual fence is a powerful tool to improve rangeland health. Applications designed by Vence, part of Merck Animal Health, allow ranchers to manage livestock by setting virtual boundaries on grazing areas instead of constructing physical fences, which are expensive to construct and can be difficult to maintain. 

Livestock are collared with GPS units and data is collected by multiple towers to triangulate position. Sound cues and an animal-safe electric pulse train cattle to avoid boundaries where a fence would be. This allows ranchers to rotate animals and restrict access to sensitive habitat while also reducing cost. Critical habitat has been designated on the monument for both yellow-billed cuckoo and Gila chub. The virtual barriers coupled with existing physical barriers will help ensure these critical habitat areas are protected. 

Installation of the virtual fence system required physically carrying one ton of material to two mountain peaks and flying six loads by helicopter. A team of wildlife biologists, natural resource specialists, park rangers, and fire personnel from the Hassayampa Field Office, Phoenix District Office, and Weaver Mountain Helitack carried and installed the equipment.   

BLM Arizona manages approximately 11.5 million acres of rangeland that are available for livestock grazing.  This includes 770 active grazing permits and leases on 841 allotments. In Fiscal Year 2024, grazing on BLM lands in Arizona generated $76 million in economic output and supported more than 1,600 jobs.