Public Grazing

Interface between Nature and Supper

Is the Bureau of Land Management Preserving our Public Lands?

Rachel Jones

Alexis Peterson

Chris Styer

Mike Wilson

A Long History of Public Land Use

• 1785 – Congress issued survey ordinances for western land expansion

• 1872 – Enactment of Homesteading Laws and Mining Law

• Late 1800’s – Creation of the first national parks and rangelands

- www.blm.gov

“These lands (west of the 100th meridian) are practically unsaleable under existing

laws, and the suggestion is worthy of consideration that a system of leasehold

tenure would make them a source of profit to the United States, while at the same

time legalizing the business of cattle raising which is at present carried on upon

them.”-President Hayes address to Congress, 1877

- Foss, 1959

Taylor Grazing Act

“to stop injury to the public grazing lands by preventing overgrazing

and soil deterioration, to provide for their orderly use, improvement and development [and] to stabilise the livestock industry dependent upon

the public range.”

- Congress 1934

Taylor Grazing Act

• 1934 – Established the U.S. Grazing Service

• First effort to regulate livestock grazing on public lands

• Created grazing districts and a permit system

-http://ipl.unm.edu/cwl/fedbook/taylorgr.html

Taylor Grazing Act

• The Act requires that a hearing be held in the state before grazing districts are created

• There must be public notice and the location is to be convenient for state officials, settlers, residents and livestock owners of the vicinity

- http://ipl.unm.edu/cwl/fedbook/taylorgr.html

Taylor Grazing Act

• Provide for the protection, administration, regulation and improvement of the grazing districts

• Preserve the land and resources from destruction or unnecessary injury; provide for orderly improvement and development of the range

• Continue the study of erosion and flood control and perform work to protect and rehabilitate areas subject to the Act

- http://ipl.unm.edu/cwl/fedbook/taylorgr.html

BLM Mission Statement:

To sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the public lands for the

use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

- www.blm.gov

Bureau of Land Management

• Created in 1946 when U.S. Grazing Service merged with the General Land Office

• Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 unified land management laws and regulations under the BLM

• FLPMA declared the lands under Public Ownership so that the lands would be utilized to meet the needs of Americans

- www.blm.gov

Bureau of Land Management

• BLM manages approximately 261 million surface acres

• 160 million acres of this land is authorized for grazing by 15,000 livestock operations

- www.blm.gov

- www.blm.gov

Bureau of Land Management

• Arizona• California• Colorado• Idaho• Montana• Nevada

• New Mexico

(OK, KS, TX)• Oregon• Utah • Wyoming

BLM Grazing Permits & Leases

• Permits issued after assessment of land by authorized BLM officer

• Documentation of forage availability, land health, sustained yield, and environmental values

• Animal unit month and land plans must be established between the officer and the permitee

- www.blm.gov

BLM Grazing Permits & Leases

• Land can be deemed unusable after assessment by BLM officer

• Land must be allowed time for re-growth, and if necessary intervention, before re-assessment for grazing uses

- www.blm.gov

BLM Grazing Permits & Leases

Of the allotments deemed unsatisfactory for livestock grazing:

• 15% of the allotments did not meet standards due to existing livestock grazing

• 7% of the allotments did not meet standards due to factors other than existing livestock grazing

- www.blm.gov

Animal Unit Month

A month’s use and occupancy of range by:

• 1 cow, bull, steer, heifer, horse, burro or mule

• 5 sheep or 5 goats

-www.blm.gov

Animal Unit Month

• The animal unit month is calculated based on age of livestock entering public lands and a prorated daily usage fee.

• No charge for livestock < 6 months of age until they are 1 year of age

www.blm.gov

Revenue from BLM Permits

• 2003 collection of livestock grazing permit fees for all BLM managed states (minus Texas) resulted in direct financial transfer to the states of $209,281,876.00.

• This money came from 18,186 permits and leases and 12,707,702 animal unit months

-www.blm.gov

How Does Public Grazing Preserve Our Land?

What are Rangelands?

• A broad category of land characterized by native plant communities that are often associated with grazing.

• Rangelands are managed by ecological rather than agronomic methods

- www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/R.htm

Grazing is Good!

• Improves Land Conditions

• Decreases Chance of Fires

• Improves Wildlife Habitat

• Improves Watershed Topography

Improves Land Conditions

• Steady improvement of public lands due to grazing

• Controls non-native plant populations

• Decreases erosion

• Seed spreading

Improves Wildlife Habitat

• Cattle increases amount of immature forage

• Increases diversity of plant species

• Opens up dense vegetation

• Creates dusting sights for upland game birds

Decreases Brush Fires

• Grazing of under growth

• Decreases dry dead plants

• Removal of dense vegetation

Improved Watershed Topography

• Watershed: A land mass that drains into a body of water

– Lake– Stream– River – Pond

Improved Watershed Topography

• Increases plant growth

• Fertilization of the land

• Breakdown of gully sides– decrease erosion

Revenue from Public Grazing

• Money from grazing permits and fees is given back to the land for:

– Management of Land Resources– Land Acquisition– Range Improvements– Wildland Fire Preparedness/Operations

Do BLM Grazing Practices Actually Hurt Our Land?

Cons of Public Grazing

• Soil Erosion & Desertification

• Deforestation

• Water Scarcity

• Water Pollution

• Global Warming

• Loss of Biodiversity

Soil Erosion and Desertification

• Caused directly by cattle and other livestock overgrazing.

• Can also be caused by over cultivation (farming) of land, improper irrigation techniques, and deforestation. Cattle production is a primary factor in each of these cases.

Soil Erosion and Desertification

• Cattle production is turning productive land into barren desert in Western America and throughout the world.

• According to a 1991 United Nations report as much as 85% of U.S. Western rangeland, nearly 685 million acres is being degraded and overgrazed.

• FactEach pound of feedlot steak costs about 35

pounds of eroded American topsoil.

Water Scarcity

• Nearly half of the total amount of water used annually in the U.S. goes to grow feed and provide drinking water for cattle and other livestock.

• U.S. fresh water reserves have declined as a result of excess water use for cattle and livestock.

• U.S. water shortages, especially in the west have now reached critical level. (Overdrafts now exceed replenishment by 25%)

Water Scarcity

• The Ogallaia aquifer, one of the world’s largest fresh water reserves, is already half depleted in Kansas, Texas and New Mexico.

• Some U.S. reservoirs and aquifers are now at their lowest levels since the last Ice Age.

• Fact Producing a pound of grain-fed steak requires

the use of 100 gallons of water

Water Pollution

• Organic waste from cattle and other livestock, pesticides, chemical fertilizers and agricultural salts are the primary non-point source of water pollution in the U.S.

• The erosion of sediment from livestock trampling into the streams and rivers widens and shallows out the water system, decreasing fish population, and disrupting the subsequent food chain

Global Warming

• Cattle and beef production emit three of the four global warming gases-Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane.

• Carbon dioxide is also generated by the fuel used in the highly mechanized agricultural production.

• Petrochemical fertilizers used to produce feed crops for grain-fed cattle releases nitrous oxide.

• FactThe use of fertilizers have increased dramatically from 14

million tons in 1950 to 143 million tons in 1989. (Worldwide)

Loss of Biodiversity

• U.S. cattle production has caused a significant loss of biodiversity on public lands.

• According to the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) more plant species in the U.S. have been eliminated or threaten by livestock grazing then by any other cause.

• Riparian zones - narrow strips of land that run alongside rivers and streams; where most flora and fauna are concentrated and are hit hardest by livestock.

Loss of Biodiversity

• According to the Arizona State Parks Department more than 90% of the original riparian zones of Arizona and New Mexico are gone.

• The GAO reports that this is due to poorly managed livestock grazing.

Loss of Biodiversity

• Wild animals are also disappearing for the range due to competition for food from domestic livestock.

• According to the GAO – Pronghorn have decreased from 15 mil a

century ago to less than 271,000– Bighorn sheep once 2 mil, now under 20,000– Elk has plummeted from 2 mil to less than

455,000.

Loss of Biodiversity

• Because of the production of cattle grazing on public lands the U.S. government has also exterminated tens of thousands of “predators” every year.

• In 1989 the U.S. Department of Agricultural Wildlife Services (formerly Animal Damage Control) killed:– 86,502 coyotes– 7,158 foxes– 236 black bears– 1,120 bobcats– 80 wolves

Loss of Biodiversity

• In 1988 Wildlife Services killed– 4.6 million birds– 9,000 beavers– 76,000 coyotes– 5,000 raccoons– 300 black bear– 200 mountain lions– Approximately 400 companion dogs– Approximately 100 companion cats (inadvertently killed)• Extermination methods include poisoning, shooting,

gassing and burning animals out of their dens

Loss of Biodiversity

• Tens of thousand of wild horses and burros have been rounded up by the federal government because ranchers claim they compete with their cattle for forage. The horses and burros are held in corral, costing taxpayer millions of dollars per year. Many wild horses have also ended up at the slaughter house.

• The “predator control” programs U.S. taxpayers 29.4 million a year. (More than the amount of livestock losses caused by wild animals)

– Keith Schneider, “Meditating the Federal War of the Jungle”– Fun Fact: Rape of Mother Earth.com

The BLM is Trying to Adjust Regulations so that Everyone is

Happy…

Will it Work?

Voluntary Grazing Buyout Act

“The proposed buyout program intends to remove livestock grazing from public land with the purpose of “improving range health”. The proposed program would allow ranchers to voluntary relinquish their grazing permits to the government in exchange for monetary compensation.”

PI: Jack Ward Thomas, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT

50812

Voluntary Grazing Buyout Act

• Government buys-out grazing permits from ranchers

• Those areas would no longer be able to be grazed by any livestock

• This would allow for restoration of the land and water resources

• Money for buyout is supplied through taxes

Voluntary Grazing Buyout Act

Compensation:

• Each rancher that voluntary sells there grazing permits receives $175.00 per animal unit month (AUM)

• Example: 300 cow/calf pairs that graze for 4 months (300x4) = $210,000.00

New Regulations

• Attempt to Increase the Public’s Involvement in Decision Making Processes

• Attempt to Meet Challenge of New Pressures and Demands as the Western U.S. Population Explodes

New Regulations

Allow ranchers to Apply for non-use Permits each year

With no max numberOf consecutive years

Helps with Management

Practices

Prevents over Grazing

Improves rangeLand health

New Regulations

• Decrease grazing use of about 10%

• Over a five year period

• Prevents over stocking

New regulations

• Requires BLM to include grazing boards established by tribes, states, and local government in grazing allotment management plans

New regulations

• Gives the BLM more time to analyze and formulate a course of action in cases where grazing practices are at issue

• Now get 24 months

• Gives more opportunity to correct bad grazing practices

New Regulations

• Increase certain service fees to reflect a more accurate cost of grazing

• Issuance of live stock crossing

• Transfer of grazing preference

• Cancellation and replacement of grazing fee bills

Is This Enough???

• Do the new grazing practices meet the challenge of sustaining our public lands for our generation and those to come?

• Is wildlife loss inevitable with or without livestock grazing as the United State’s population grows?

• What Do You Think?