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Public Grazing

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

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Public Grazing

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  1. Public Grazing Interfacebetween Nature and Supper

  2. Is the Bureau of Land Management Preserving our Public Lands? Rachel Jones Alexis Peterson Chris Styer Mike Wilson

  3. 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

  4. “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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. www.blm.gov

  13. Arizona California Colorado Idaho Montana Nevada New Mexico (OK, KS, TX) Oregon Utah Wyoming Bureau of Land Management

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. 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

  19. 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

  20. How Does Public Grazing Preserve Our Land?

  21. 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

  22. Grazing is Good! • Improves Land Conditions • Decreases Chance of Fires • Improves Wildlife Habitat • Improves Watershed Topography

  23. Improves Land Conditions • Steady improvement of public lands due to grazing • Controls non-native plant populations • Decreases erosion • Seed spreading

  24. 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

  25. Decreases Brush Fires • Grazing of under growth • Decreases dry dead plants • Removal of dense vegetation

  26. Improved Watershed Topography • Watershed: A land mass that drains into a body of water • Lake • Stream • River • Pond

  27. Improved Watershed Topography • Increases plant growth • Fertilization of the land • Breakdown of gully sides • decrease erosion

  28. 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

  29. Do BLM Grazing Practices Actually Hurt Our Land?

  30. Cons of Public Grazing • Soil Erosion & Desertification • Deforestation • Water Scarcity • Water Pollution • Global Warming • Loss of Biodiversity

  31. 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.

  32. 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. • Fact Each pound of feedlot steak costs about 35 pounds of eroded American topsoil.

  33. 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%)

  34. 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

  35. 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

  36. 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. • Fact The use of fertilizers have increased dramatically from 14 million tons in 1950 to 143 million tons in 1989. (Worldwide)

  37. 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.

  38. 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.

  39. 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.

  40. 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

  41. 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

  42. 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

  43. The BLM is Trying to Adjust Regulations so that Everyone is Happy…Will it Work?

  44. 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

  45. 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

  46. 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

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