Restoration of non-sprouting shrubs after wildfire is increasingly becoming a management priority. In the western U.S., Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young) restoration is a high priority, but sagebrush establishment from seed is sporadic. In contrast, planting seedlings often successfully restores sagebrush, but is expensive and time consuming. After planting, hence, there is a need to protect the investment from disturbances such as fire that will erase gains in sagebrush recovery. Grazing is likely the only tool that can be applied feasibly across the landscape to decrease wildfire probability, but there are concerns that grazing and associated activities (e.g. trampling) may negatively impact sagebrush seedlings. We investigated effects of grazing by cattle, applied as a fine fuel management strategy, on planted sagebrush seedlings at five blocks for five years. Grazing substantial reduced exotic annual grasses, large perennial bunchgrasses, and total herbaceous cover, thus achieving fuel management goals. Sagebrush cover and reproductive efforts were almost 2-fold greater in grazed compared to non-grazed areas in the final year of the study. This suggests that grazing favored sagebrush, a generally unpalatable shrub, recovery, likely by reducing competition from highly palatable herbaceous vegetation. Density of sagebrush, however, was similar between grazed and non-grazed areas. This research demonstrates that grazing can be strategically applied to reduce the probability of wildfire in areas with planted sagebrush seedlings; thereby, protecting the investment in sagebrush recovery. With more refinement, it also appears that grazing can be utilized to accelerate the recovery of sagebrush and potentially other woody vegetation habitat by modifying the competitive relationship between herbaceous and woody vegetation.

野火后恢复非发芽灌木越来越成为管理的重点。在美国西部怀俄明州大山艾树（蒿三齿纳特。SSP。wyomingensis甲虫（Young Beetle＆Young）的修复是当务之急，但是从种子中创建鼠尾草是零星的。相反，播种幼苗通常可以成功地恢复鼠尾草，但昂贵且耗时。因此，在种植后，有必要保护投资免受火灾等干扰，这些干扰会消除鼠尾草恢复中的收益。放牧可能是可在整个景观上切实可行的减少野火可能性的唯一工具，但人们担心放牧和相关活动（例如践踏）可能会对鼠尾草幼苗产生负面影响。我们调查了牛放牧的效果，将其作为一种精细的燃料管理策略，对五年内五个街区种植的鼠尾草幼苗的影响。大量放牧的异国一年生草，多年生大型束草和全部草皮被放牧，从而实现燃料管理目标。在研究的最后一年，草皮的覆盖率和生殖力几乎比非草皮的地区高2倍。这表明放牧有利于鼠尾草（通常是难吃的灌木）的恢复，这可能是通过减少与高度可口的草本植物的竞争来实现的。然而，放牧区和非放牧区的鼠尾草密度相似。这项研究表明，在种植了鼠尾草苗的地区，可以从策略上应用放牧来减少野火的可能性。从而保护了鼠尾草恢复方面的投资。进一步完善