GRAZING PROGRAMS

NCBA Staff Contact: 

Jeff Eisenberg, Director of Federal Lands, and Executive Director, Public Lands Council
202-347-0228

jeisenberg@beef.org

Summary:
Ranchers are responsible stewards of public land, investing immeasurable amounts of time and millions of dollars in range improvement projects each year.  Public land ranching is a positive partnership between federal agencies and western livestock operators.  It benefits western communities and the American public through land management, rural development, open space and preservation of the western way of life.

Background:

The federal government manages more than 680 million acres of land in the United States, including lands in national forests, grasslands, parks, refuges, reservoirs, and military bases and installations. Of the total federal lands, BLM and the Forest Service manage almost 450 million acres for multiple uses, including timber harvest, recreation, grazing, minerals, water supply and quality, and wildlife habitat. BLM’s 12 state offices manage more than 260 million acres in 12 western states, including 82 million acres in Alaska, while the Forest Service’s 123 administrative offices manage more than 190 million acres across the nation. The majority of federal lands are located in the western half of the country.

The country’s rangelands have been used to graze domestic livestock since the United States was settled, and the federal government has managed grazing on federal lands for more than 100 years.  As the West was settled throughout the late 1800s, conflict among different users of the rangelands increased, as did degradation of these lands.  As a result, in 1897, the federal government began managing livestock grazing in the nation’s forest reserves; in 1906, the Forest Service started charging a fee for grazing on these reserves.

Public land ranchers enter into lease contracts with federal agencies and incur higher costs of operation than ranchers on exclusively private land.  Private leases include water resources, fencing and riders to manage cattle not provided in public land permits.  Ranchers must pay up-front costs of permits and range improvements—totaling thousands of dollars in investment—to gain access to public land.  These investments are in addition to annual grazing fees paid for use of the forage on public land.

Ranchers serve as public land managers, helping government agencies to cut costs and meet resource objectives.  Ranchers are often the only human presence on public lands.  Government costs of management are high, due in large part to bureaucracy and litigation.  These costs would be present without grazing, and management costs would be higher still without ranchers on the land.  Ranchers’ time and financial investments in public land help government agencies meet tight budgets.

Public lands across the West are intermixed with private lands.  They have become part of the economic base and cultural heritage of western communities.  Reduction in ranchers’ use of the public lands would uproot families and communities across the West.  Western ranchers are increasingly under pressure from development and other resource conflicts.  Without access to public lands, ranchers would be forced to sell private lands, and the landscape of the American West would be increasingly fragmented.  Grazing programs protect the biodiversity and open space of the West by maintaining both private and public land.

Public land ranching maintains open space.  107 million acres of private ranchland are tied into public land grazing.  Without access to public land forage, these ranches would be forced to sell out to developers.  11,300 acres of farm and ranchland are lost to development each day, according to Rangelands Journal.  The greatest threat to biodiversity of plants and wildlife is fragmentation of habitat.  Public land ranching protects millions of acres of open habitat for rangeland species.

Additionally, managed grazing is found to be more beneficial than exclusion from grazing.  A paper from New Mexico State University cited 56-year study of rangeland that found healthier plant species on grazed rangeland than on land excluded from grazing. 

Key Points:

·         Because of costs incurred for range improvements, water resources, fencing and riders to manage cattle not provided in public land permits, lease contracts with federal agencies can be more costly for ranchers than grazing cattle on exclusively private land. 

·         As often the only human presence on public lands, ranchers serve as public land managers, helping government agencies to cut costs and meet resource objectives. 

·         Grazing programs protect the biodiversity and open space of the West by maintaining both private and public land.  Western ranchers are increasingly under pressure from development and other resource conflicts.  Without access to public lands, ranchers would be forced to sell private lands, and the landscape of the American West would be increasingly fragmented. 

·         Public land ranching maintains open space and plant and wildlife habitat.  According to Rangelands Journal, 11,300 acres of farm and ranchland are lost to development each day.  The greatest threat to biodiversity of plants and wildlife is fragmentation of habitat.  Public land ranching protects millions of acres of open habitat for rangeland species.

·         Managed grazing has been proven to promote healthier plant habitats.  A paper form New Mexico State University cited 56-year study of rangeland that found healthier plant species on grazed rangeland than on land excluded from grazing.

For more information, visit:  http://www.thepubliclandscouncil.org