For wetland areas, grazing is often more intensive than on uplands. Our goal is to provide optimum spring migratory habitat seven out of ten years. Wetlands choked with cattail, river bulrush, and reed canary grass are often grazed heavily with large numbers of livestock to create open pockets for ducks during spring and fall migration. Grazing helps reduce monotypic stands of unwanted species with a more diverse mixture including those which provide food for wildlife. The more common species which respond to this management practice include: smartweed, burreed, barnyard grass, and spikerush.

Upland grazing is done to manage mixed grass prairie (a mixture of native cool and warm season grasses). Warm season grasses are noted for having stronger stems that remain erect during winter storms. Exotic cool season grasses have a tendency to outcompete their native counterparts on the northern prairie due to the long cool season weather periods. Livestock grazing in early spring clip the exotic cool season grasses, such as smooth brome and Kentucky bluegrass reducing their growth vigor and seed production. The resulting shorter cool-season grass allows more sunlight to reach the newly growing warm season plants, allowing for faster growth and greater competition with the exotic cool season invaders. Native cool season grasses also are pressured during this management producing timing considerations of following management treatments.

Timing of grazing generally targets the cool season to reduce competition presented by the invading cool season exotics. Areas dominated by undesirable grasses are grazed longer so each plant is clipped more than once. Plants frequently clipped are required to use up nutrients in their root system to regenerate new foliage, resulting in a weaker plant. Areas containing preferred grasses are grazed just long enough for each plant to be clipped once. Then, the area is allowed to rest from grazing. It is during the period of rest that grasses respond to grazing. The single clipping causes the plant to respond by building a larger root system. The larger root system allows the plant to capture more soil moisture and nutrients; resulting in a healthier plant.

Vast grasslands once covered much of North America. Settlement, agriculture, and development have reduced prairie habitats to a patchwork of isolated grasslands in a sea of croplands, roads, and cities. Loss of grasslands is detrimental to people as well as wildlife. Grasslands help reduce soil erosion caused by wind and water. They also filter chemicals, thus protecting our water supplies. Vegetation, such as grass, forbs, and shrubs, help trap snow and rain. This allows a more regulated flow of precipitation to seep into the ground, recharging water supplies.

Grazing has been the most common management technique used to improve and enhance upland nesting cover on WPA's in recent years. Usually 2,000 - 3,000 acres on 20 or more Waterfowl Production Area's are treated by grazing each year. Local livestock owners benefit by having additional lands to graze and pay competitive rental rates to graze their cattle.