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GPS collars help Oregon researchers, ranchers track cattlePENDLETON, Ore. (AP)--Livestock collars that can signal satellites may help ranchers manage their herds more effectively. "We started using GPS collars on animals about seven years ago," said Doug Johnson, a researcher at Oregon State University's Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management. Commercial global positioning system collars cost about $4,500 each so Johnson's research team builds its own. "We recently developed some collars that will collect information, dial a satellite phone and send you an e-mail telling you where the animal is," Johnson said. He recently completed a study of cattle on Zumwalt Prairie near Enterprise and his study of goats is in its second year near Burns. Last summer, Johnson began working with elk at the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range near La Grande. The Zumwalt Prairie study logged each animal's location with the date and time every 30 seconds. Johnson could see when an animal came to water and when it left, the amount of time it spent loafing, where the animal went and how it got there. Johnson and his team also can use the GPS data to determine herd leaders and followers. They hope to study the effects of large predators such as wolves or cougars on livestock distribution. His favorite study is on goats near Burns. He determined their favorite trails and resting and grazing areas, noting they tend to settle down from about 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and take a nap in the afternoon. He also found they help control invasive plant species. "We found that goats eat a lot of Russian knapweed," Johnson said. "They didn't seek out patches of it, but they ate it as they came across it." Johnson says GPS technology may not be ready for practical applications. But he suggested it could be used to examine animal behavior in riparian zones and along streams to compare the grazing strategies of different species, examine the effects of mixed species grazing and how guard animals protect a flock. "For example, we have found that cattle select the least energy-cost pathways between feeding stations and water," he said. "This means that we can predict routes that livestock are likely to use and plan range improvements more effectively." 1/28/08 Date: 1/18/08
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