From the Society for Range Management publication Rangeland Resources of North America.

Rangelands affect us all. They comprise about 40% of the landmass of the United States and a significant portion of the grazing area of Western Canada and Mexico providing valuable grazing lands for livestock and wildlife. Rangelands, also found throughout the world, serve as a source of high quality water, clean air and open spaces and benefit people as a setting for recreation and economic means for agriculture, mining and communities.

Rangelands are a type of land on which the natural vegetation is dominated by grasses, forbs and shrubs and the land is managed as a natural ecosystem. In North America, rangelands include the grasslands of the Great Plains stretching from the Midwestern United States to Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta in Canada as well as wetlands throughout North America. Other examples of rangelands would include the savannas in Texas and Florida, shrublands throughout the western United States, the Alaska and northern Canada tundra, Mexico's deserts, and alpine meadows in mountain ranges throughout the continent.

While rangelands occur in every region of the continent, they are the dominant type of land in the arid and semiarid regions. For instance, nearly 80% of the lands of the West are classified as rangelands whereas only 7% of some areas near the East Coast are classified as rangelands.

• What goods and services are derived from rangelands?
• Rangelands serve multiple purposes as:
• a habitat for a wide array of game and non-game animal species;
• a habitat for a diverse and wide array of native plant species;
• a source of high quality water, clean air and open spaces;
• a setting for recreational hiking, camping, fishing, hunting and nature experiences;
• the foundation for low-input, fully renewable food and fiber production systems of grazing industries.

Because of the diversity of goods and services derived from rangelands, their management and health are linked closely to the economic well being of many communities.

More discussion of Rangelands from the University of Idaho.