Virtual Fences: The Newest Tool in Managing Grazing on Public Lands

For hundreds of years, people have managed the roaming of cattle with one simple tool: a fence. While effective, this method is imperfect: fences break, cattle are strong, and people don’t close gates. And so researchers in Idaho are working on a new method to track and control cattle that graze on public lands: virtual fences. The cutting-edge technology could help reduce conflicts between ranchers and outdoors people, and improve grazing management.

What Is It?

Researchers at the University of Idaho are working with a local rancher who relies on a federal grazing allotment in the Pahsimeroi Valley south of Salmon. The team fitted 550 mother cows with radio collars.

As the cow gets closer and closer to a predetermined GPS boundary, the collar emits a warning sound and a pulse to deter the cow from continuing. The signal comes from a portable cellular base station, and the rancher can easily adjust where cattle can go.

The study is currently in its first of two seasons, which last from April to mid-October each year. The project received funding from the Foundation for America’s Public Lands, a conservation nonprofit. The organization said that currently, 238,000 acres are being managed with this new tech.

Why Does It Matter?

One of the goals of the tools is to reduce potential conflict between people recreating outdoors on public lands and ranchers. No one enjoys a cow rooting around in their dispersed campsite, and ranchers object when hikers don’t properly close cattle gates. Virtual fencing can help solve both of these issues.

“We’re going to try to manage cattle away from those recreational areas and see if we have a lower rate of multi-use challenges,” lead researcher and associate professor Dr. Melinda Ellison said in a press release.

The collars will also help researchers better study cows’ behavior and grazing practices to help shape grazing management decisions. Certain areas can be excluded for the health of vegetation, for example.

“We’re also interested in the best way to manage vegetation in the areas where we exclude cattle. We’ll also be looking at how animals utilize the landscape as a whole when they are wearing a collar,” Ellison explained.

Ellison plans to test this technology in other public land management applications. Beginning in March 2027, she will use the collars to control grazing cattle along roads. The cattle will be directed to eat vegetation in certain areas with the goal of reducing the chances of wildfires from spreading.