A Dim View of Grazing
Grass not always greener on the other side

© 2001 Wendy Dager

While the last edition of the LEAF-let focused on the positive aspects of grazing to minimize wildfires ("Wildfires Don't Have a Goats of a Chance"), the controversy over using animals for land management rages out of control.

The seemingly earth-friendly issue of grazing has a decidedly unfriendly aspect as some environmental groups take action against ranchers who graze their cattle on leased public lands. Environmentalists believe that public lands are overgrazed and because of that, habitats are being destroyed.

Although the LEAF-let explored the subject of government agencies paying ranchers to bring their livestock to graze federal-, county-, and city-owned property, there remain those who, instead, pay the government for the privilege.

A coalition of western conservationists has organized the National Public Lands Grazing Campaign (http://www.publiclandsranching.org) in order to encourage public lands’ permittees to voluntarily surrender their grazing permits in exchange for $175 per animal unit month. The NPLGC is also seeking administrative reform to allow third parties to facilitate permanent permit retirement. The NPLGC cites the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, National Forest Management Act, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act as a basis for greatly reducing or completely eliminating grazing on public lands.

NPLGC members believe Americans should be educated about what they call "the ecological, economic and social harm caused by public lands livestock grazing."

Indeed, their cries to enforce laws and hold ranchers accountable for improper grazing practices are not falling on deaf ears.

The federal government has begun punishing offenders, including Ruby Valley, Nevada rancher Cliff Gardner, who was convicted twice for grazing his cattle in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest without a permit.

And, last summer, the Bureau of Land Management seized 62 cattle from Ben Colvin of Goldfield, Nevada, claiming he owed $73,000 in back fees and fines for trespassing on federal land.

In addition to cracking down on those who allegedly break the law, grazing activists are inspiring the courts to rule against ranchers who are doing nothing illegal.

In November 2001, the Arizona Supreme Court dealt a blow to ranchers when it ruled that the environmental group Forest Guardians would be allowed to bid on grazing leases on state lands. This decision came after the Forest Guardians had offered to pay up to five times more for land use, effectively displacing ranchers who were grazing cattle on the land. The Forest Guardians’ bid, however, was rejected by state land commissioner J. Dennis Wells, which is how the case ended up in Supreme Court.

While Arizona Supreme Court Justice Stanley Feldman said that Wells did have some discretion over land use, he disagreed that grazing was the only option.

"Restoration and preservation are already and must continue to be considered legitimate uses for land that...has no higher and better use than grazing," Feldman wrote. "Otherwise, grazing lessees could continue to graze stock until the land is damaged and the value destroyed."

Grazing has been going on for hundreds of thousands of years. Great herds of animals such as mammoths, bison, and antelope provided necessary grazing services long before the first environmentalist left the womb hoisting a picket sign—and long before there was the need to manage land in accordance with law.

And therein lies the key—successful land management.

Because woolly mammoths have long since met their demise, modern-day cattle, sheep, and goats are available as wildfire and erosion control methods.

Livestock can also be used in lieu of herbicides. For example, the Coconino National Forest in Arizona is home to leafy spurge, a noxious weed that is toxic to cattle, but a tasty treat for sheep, which currently graze the land. No one knows, however, how long sheep will keep the leafy spurge at bay as Coconino County is one of the areas targeted for non-grazing by the Forest Guardians.

Not all ranchers who graze livestock on public lands are bad managers. There are many who are aware of simple land management techniques, such as the ancient practice of moving cattle to higher elevations in the summer and back down the mountain in fall and winter, giving forage time to recover.

Yet, until the tussling triad of ranchers, environmentalists, and the government seek a solution amenable to all, the issue of grazing will remain one of contention and grief.

Albright Seed is a Division of S&S Seeds.

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