Quantify the amount of acres of rangeland, by county that receives favorable property tax treatment under the Williamson Act. Williamson Act contracts have a significant effect on the amount of property taxes a rancher pays. The property is assessed with livestock operations as the highest and best use. There is some evidence that the positive effects of Williamson Act contracts have diminished in the past several years.

Trends in ownership or partnerships involving conservation organizations and ranchers document change favoring sustainable resource management. This indicator measures the number of conservation easements and number of acres protected under conservation easement, ownership by conservation organizations conducting ranching operations as well as other partnerships between producers and conservation organizations.

Determine how ranchers and managers are diversifying their income sources to maintain their ownerships and lifestyles. Activities such as fee hunting, conservation easements to protect areas of high conservation value and other forms of recreation have increased on rangeland properties. Increasingly, livestock are being used to manage fuels in conservation reserves and parks with a financial return to the herd manager. The potential for these and other untapped sources of income for ranchers has a bearing on whether or not the land can remain in current uses.

Document current status and trends in federal (BLM, USFS) rangeland policies and allotment use by private ranchers (for livestock grazing). Grazing allotments on federal lands have historically been a significant resource available to ranchers. With this indicator, the importance of allotments to rangeland use sustainability will be assessed. Anecdotal evidence indicates that some grazing allotments are being secured by non-grazing interests to reduce grazing pressures.

Track the demand side of the economics of the California livestock industry. Prices of dairy products, wool, lamb, and beef are key indicators to show the viability and potential economic challenges faced by the livestock industry.

The ability to retain rangeland in livestock production uses depends on the economics of those uses and the ability of owners to maintain their ownerships in comparison to competing uses. This indicator will look at current information on the costs and returns associated with conventional cow-calf and sheep operations on rangelands. It will provide insights into whether or not these operations are stable, increasing or declining due to economic forces.

This indicator measures changes in ownership, ownership stability, and how the land is being used (e.g., ranging from public to private ownership, production agriculture to residential lots). It will measure how quickly rangelands are turning over (i.e., converting from one owner to another or from one use to another). It is important to sustainability because conversion of open rangeland to housing developments, for example, have an effect on many aspects of rangelands (e.g., loss of open space, habitat fragmentation, noxious weeds) as well as diminishing future options for the land.

Document the amount of rangeland currently being managed with water quality best management practices. The University of California Rangeland Water Quality Program provides tools and incentives for ranchers to implement voluntary measures to prevent and/or mitigate impacts of livestock operations on water quality. Trends and levels of participation in these programs are considered to be indicative of sustainable rangeland management practices.

The number of livestock currently depending on rangeland to meet some or all of their life cycle requirements is indicative of the status of the range livestock industry. This indicator measures the quantity of livestock (cattle, sheep, horses, and goats) that spend part or all of the year on rangeland. The indicator, linked with other indicators, represents rangeland grazing and browsing use by domestic animals. It accounts for short-term management strategies by individual grazers, as well as more long-term strategies followed by land management agencies.

Characterize the general status of surface water quality on California rangelands. This indicator measures the percentage or area of surface water bodies with impaired water quality, when compared with beneficial uses defined under the Clean Water Act. Surface water includes the length of small, medium, and large streams and rivers, and the area of lakes and reservoirs. Impairment may be reflected in 303-d listings of watersheds where ranching uses are identified as source of pollution.