I appreciate the invitation from Western Livestock Journal to contribute to the conversation about public lands ranching in the West. In the coming months, I look forward to sharing my perspective on some of the challenges we face, as well as opportunities to build on our successes.
My family has been ranching on federal lands long before the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) was established. The first generation came to California in the Gold Rush of 1849 and settled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. They didn’t strike it rich, but they built a life rooted in cattle and timber while hunting for the mother lode.
Sometime in the 1860s, ranchers began moving cattle and sheep from the valley to federal lands in the mountains. The range was vast and steep, mostly big timber and browse, but the cattle adapted and did well. By the time allotments and permits were issued by the USFS in the early 1900s, my family had already been moving cattle to the mountains for about 40 years.
There are over 22,000 permittees operating on federal lands in the western states, managing over 240 million acres—150 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and 93 million acres of USFS land—of extensive landscapes that vary widely; alpine meadows, forests, deserts, sagebrush, grasslands and everything in between. Each allotment requires an understanding of the land, grounded in the generational experience of the ranching stewards.
Many people don’t realize that western states are predominantly owned by the federal government; over half of California, two-thirds of Oregon and 85% of Nevada. That pattern of ownership is typical of the West. Federal lands are administered by the BLM (Department of Interior) and the USFS (Department of Agriculture). Navigating bureaucracies is complicated, challenging and can be frustrating. The agencies are mandated to follow complex policies that are not suited to diverse conditions. Agency policy manuals are often written with a “one size fits all” style, which sometimes limits the permittee and the agency from doing what’s best for the land.
Grazing on federal lands has never been simple. By law, the land has a multiple-use mandate which includes livestock grazing as a primary use, along with timber, mining (oil and gas), hunting and other types of recreation. Balancing those sometimes competing interests has never been easy. I have minutes from cattlemen’s meetings in the 1920s that were held in our area, recording the occasionally heated conflicts with ranchers and the USFS. There were arguments about time of use, numbers of cattle, fencing, trespass, miners and ranchers, and the list goes on. Sound familiar?
I lived (and in some ways, still do!) through the constant threat of those who didn’t want cattle on federal lands. “Cattle free by ’93!” dominated the headlines in the livestock sector for over a decade. There are extremist groups who work every day to remove livestock from federal lands. Yet, we are still here. That doesn’t mean the challenges go away, but it is a reminder that it has never been simple. The Endangered Species Act, predators, water, fire, wild horses, lawsuits … there is no shortage of problems. And now there are growing concerns with the placement of solar, wind and data centers on federal lands.
But I believe in the resilience of public lands ranchers. For over 150 years, ranchers have cared for the land and sustainably grazed the public domain. We are essential to the health of the ecosystem including fuels reduction, developing water sources for wildlife, road and fence maintenance, and the economic health of rural communities. In many cases, we are the only ones caring for and improving public lands.
The challenges continue, yet I remain an optimist. There is growing recognition of the value of grazing, particularly in fuel reduction, as well as protecting biodiversity, while at the same time sustaining rural communities. I am confident in the ability of ranchers to meet the moment. We continue to do the right thing for the livestock, the land and the people who live in the small towns that dot the West.
I just returned from the 58th Annual Meeting of the Public Lands Council (PLC) held in Colorado. PLC represents all public lands grazers. The presentations and engagement from BLM and USFS leadership, as well as contributions from permittees, were extremely positive as we face so many challenges. I was honored to be selected to join PLC as a member of the officer team for the coming year. PLC is our voice in Washington, D.C., tackling some of the most pressing issues that we face as public lands ranchers.
I look forward to learning from the experiences of so many of you and sharing that information here. — DR. DAVE DALEY
