A recent analysis by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) reveals rangelands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are in poor ecological health and do not meet Land Health Standards for minimum quality.
PEER compiled the information from Freedom of Information Act requests and examined records from 1997 to 2023 for over 21,000 BLM grazing allotments covering approximately 155 million acres across 10 Western states.
According to PEER, their analysis found:
• More than 56 million acres of BLM-assessed land failed to meet land health standards. Results varied significantly by state, with Idaho reporting only 25% of its range meeting standards while neighboring Montana achieved an 83% success rate.
• Livestock has been identified as the major cause of land health failure on at least 37 million acres. The BLM has determined that overgrazing is the primary reason for land health issues across the West.
• Nine out of 10 BLM state offices are renewing over half of their grazing permits for another 10 years without conducting a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review.
• BLM has not completed land health assessments on over 36 million acres. This lack of assessment may conceal even more extensive landscape damage, the report said, especially in Nevada, which has the largest share of public range and a high failure rate—more than three acres fail health standards for every one that passes. Additionally, Nevada has the largest proportion (39%) of unassessed range.
“Throughout much of the west, BLM lands are in poor ecological health due to livestock grazing,” said Rocky Mountain PEER Director Chandra Rosenthal. “These are figures that BLM does not want the public to see. BLM should have information on every allotment available to land managers, ranchers, conservations and researchers in real time.”
The analysis did reveal a positive change in comparison to pre-2019 BLM records. However, PEER said one-third of the assessed lands failed minimum health standards during both periods.
PEER and Western Watersheds Project filed suit in September 2023 against BLM for its failure to comply with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) requirements to determine the prioritization and timing of environmental analyses for livestock grazing allotments.
The suit states BLM has failed to conduct NEPA reviews on 63% of current BLM grazing permits. It also asserts the absence of a NEPA analysis was higher for allotments overlapping national monuments or national conservation areas (75%) and critical habitat for wildlife protected by the Endangered Species Act (76%). Additionally, nearly three-quarters (74%) of allotments fail minimum landscape health standards due to livestock grazing impacts, the report said.
The suit is asking a judge in the District Court for the District of Columbia to declare BLM has violated FLPMA requirements for failing to complete a NEPA analysis and for the agency to issue a decision determining the priority of grazing allotments for NEPA analysis.
“When the Bureau rubber stamps grazing permits without environmental review, it’s avoiding accountability and failing to manage these lands for all Americans and not just the livestock industry,” Josh Osher, public policy director for Western Watersheds Project, said in a statement.
In April, BLM finalized its Public Lands Rule directing the agency to prioritize landscape health, restore and safeguard public lands with restoration and mitigation leases, and clarify the designation and management of areas of critical environmental concern.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Public Lands Council said the rule contradicts FPLMA, which requires BLM to balance public lands for multiple uses. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
