Desert Biosphere Reserve
Encyclopedia
The Desert Biosphere Reserve and Experimental Range is a biosphere reserve
and experimental range
in the western reaches of the U.S. state
of Utah
. The experimental range was established in 1933 when 87 square miles (225.3 km²) of public lands were designated "as an agricultural range experiment station" by President Herbert Hoover
.
The range is maintained by the U.S. Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station
. It was declared a biosphere reserve
by UNESCO
in 1976. It is located in the Pine Valley
area, about 40 miles (64.4 km) west of Milford
. It protects a landscape typical of the Great Basin
, with its typical geography of north-south aligned mountain ranges separated by desert basins. Vegetation is typical of the Great Basin shrub steppe
, with shadscale saltbush (Atriplex confertifolia) and sagebrush
(Artemisia spp.) scrublands predominant. The reserve also includes areas of Single-leaf Pinyon
(Pinus monophylla)-juniper
woodland
and pasture
land.
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
and experimental range
Rangeland
Rangelands are vast natural landscapes in the form of grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas, chaparrals, steppes, and tundras...
in the western reaches of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. The experimental range was established in 1933 when 87 square miles (225.3 km²) of public lands were designated "as an agricultural range experiment station" by President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
.
The range is maintained by the U.S. Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station
Rocky Mountain Research Station
The Rocky Mountain Research Station is one of five regional units that make up the US Forest Service Research and Development organization — the most extensive natural resources research organization in the world. The station headquarters are located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The director is...
. It was declared a biosphere reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in 1976. It is located in the Pine Valley
Pine Valley, Utah
Pine Valley, Utah is an unincorporated town in Washington County, Utah, United States that lies approximately 45 minutes north of the county seat, St. George. It is located at the head of the Santa Clara River in the Pine Valley Mountains, and was settled in 1859...
area, about 40 miles (64.4 km) west of Milford
Milford, Utah
Milford is a city in Beaver County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,420 at the 2010 census.-History:Although there were ranches in the area in the 1870s, Milford did not come into being until the arrival of the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad in 1880.-Milford Flat...
. It protects a landscape typical of the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
, with its typical geography of north-south aligned mountain ranges separated by desert basins. Vegetation is typical of the Great Basin shrub steppe
Great Basin shrub steppe
The Great Basin shrub steppe ecoregion, within the Deserts and xeric shrublands Biome, includes various xeric shrub-steppe sub-ecoregions in the Great Basin region of the Western United States.It is within the North American Desert region, and includes much of Nevada, eastern and northeastern...
, with shadscale saltbush (Atriplex confertifolia) and sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
(Artemisia spp.) scrublands predominant. The reserve also includes areas of Single-leaf Pinyon
Single-leaf Pinyon
The Single-leaf Pinyon, ', is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to the United States and northwest Mexico. The range is in southernmost Idaho, western Utah, Arizona, southwest New Mexico, Nevada, eastern and southern California and northern Baja California.It occurs at moderate altitudes from...
(Pinus monophylla)-juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
and pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
land.