Public Lands Grazing: Cows Help People and Lands!  

Cattle grazing has been an important use of Western rangelands for well over a hundred years. In the mid-1880s, about 600,000 head of cattle, plus thousands of horses and sheep, grazed in the Black Hills region each year. Now, only about 27,000 cattle and 300 sheep graze on the Black Hills National Forest (BHNF) annually, under permit to approximately 250 ranchers.

Some people might wonder why domesticated animals are allowed to roam public lands, but there are some excellent reasons that justify this use of our National Forest and BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands.

Everyone is familiar with the main benefits of grazing: hamburgers, steaks, and lamb chops. Some people realize that leather and hundreds of other products come from cows. And most people realize that livestock grazing provides an economic boost to individuals, local economies, and the nation. Few people understand, however, what ranchers have known for generations: grazing actually helps grasslands. In fact, grazing is so beneficial that many mines are now using cattle to graze -- and improve -- newly-reclaimed lands.

The Circle of Life
Think about it for a moment. To improve your lawn, you mow it to stimulate growth, fertilize it to increase the nutrient level, and try to increase its ability to hold water. Grazing by cattle and sheep accomplishes the same benefits for our rangelands.

Like mowing, grazing stimulates grass to grow thicker and faster. The nutrient-rich manure and urine excreted by cattle return to the ground as fertilizer and attract insects that speed up the recycling of carbon and nitrogen into the soil. Mineral supplements and feeds offered to livestock also act as fertilizers.

Unless a lot of heavy, hoofed wildlife is present, livestock is essential to maintaining active, healthy, living topsoil and to completing the cycle of nutrients. Cattle hooves provide the aeration necessary to the soil creatures and micro-organisms that assist in the cycling, and cattle trample dead plant material into small pieces, aiding in its decomposition and incorporation into the soil surface. The hoofprints left by cattle provide indentations that collect often-scarce water as well as seeds, nutrients, litter, and soil -- the perfect ‘seedbed’ for new grasses. Both lightly- and heavily-grazed lands contain more organic carbon and nitrogen than that of rangelands ungrazed by livestock for up to 40 years.

Livestock is essential to maintaining living
topsoil and to completing the cycle of nutrients.

In addition, as did the buffalo, cattle and sheep reduce the fuel loads of the grasslands, an important factor in dry Western regions. Those who hail from less arid and less open areas may find it hard to imagine, but a prairie fire -- a 10-foot or higher wall of flames moving at unbelievable speeds -- can be a frightening and devastating phenomenon. Residents of eastern Montana were reminded several years ago of the danger posed by grass fires when two local ranchers who had come to help fight a fire were killed when surrounded without warning by wind-shifted flames.

Despite these known benefits, federal lands have been subject to calls for ‘No moo in ‘92,’ ‘Cattle free by ‘93,’ and various slogans since then. Livestock is still grazing on federal lands, but controversy over this traditional use continues despite the fact that studies show that when conducted with a little care and common sense, grazing improves the health and vitality of rangelands and that undergrazing can be as harmful as the overgrazing which occurred in places a century ago.

Cattle’s Water Increases Wildlife Populations
Western rangeland ecologies evolved to withstand intensive grazing. These lands, often near-desert terrain, are far from fragile. Their resiliency was proven by herds containing millions of buffalo which usually left bare dust in their wakes. They recovered from drastic, recurrent overgrazing by buffalo; they can certainly handle, and even profit by, the well-managed grazing of today.

Western rangelands are not usually suitable for crop production, and the plant roughages found on most rangelands cannot be digested by humans but are ideal for ruminants (three- or four-stomached hoofed animals). Sheep and cattle, therefore, convert otherwise wasted forage to food and fiber. And since the federal government owns about 170 million acres of the land used for grazing, productive use of these lands benefits ranchers, consumers, taxpayers, and wildlife.

Wildlife benefiting from cattle grazing may seem incongruous, but in the arid West, wildlife is limited to areas within reach (usually daily) of water. When ranchers create open water storage, deer, rabbits, coyotes, and other animals are able to inhabit areas previously unused by wildlife. The salt and mineral blocks put out for livestock supply nutrients for wildlife, too, as do the rancher’s hay stacks and private pastures. Between 1977 and 1988, the total big game populations on BLM grew 31% as a result of managed grazing activities.

Federal rangelands are in the best shape that they have been in for 100 years.
On ungrazed Western rangelands, the recycling of nutrients is broken. Much carbon and nitrogen is tied up in dead plant material which can break down and blow away without contributing to the soil, and the ‘fertilizer’ and ‘hoof action’ are missing. Decay slows, and seed germination is reduced. The soil seals in a hard crust, losing much of its ability to hold water and air. Roots shrink and many aerobic soil organisms die. Plants die, and as runoff increases, more plants die. ‘Protecting’ rangelands by letting them rest too much often destroys the very resource that people purport to be ‘saving’.

In addition, lack of grazing can also change the character of rangelands. Believing that cattle grazing endangered the Mountain Yellow Buttercup, The Nature Conservancy purchased 40 acres of its Utah habitat and stopped all cattle grazing. Without the presence of grass-eating animals, vegetation grew unabated and choked out the delicate flower.

The federal grazing permit system is set up to ensure that land is not over-grazed, that riparian (damp) areas are not harmed, and that the public receives compensation -- on an AUM (Animal Unit per Month) basis -- for the forage consumed. Although the fees charged by the government are often not as high as those charged by private landowners, there are good reasons for the discrepancy. Many federal grazing lands are those not claimed by homesteaders because of their low fertility and minimal water supplies. Permittees are responsible for fencing, maintenance, and miscellaneous costs that they would not be responsible for on privately-leased lands. Too, federal grazing lands are still open to the general public, and ranchers must contend with the problems caused by unlimited access, such as gates left open (necessitating time spent to gather livestock) and picnic or camping trash left on the ground. Such problems can greatly increase a rancher’s cost of operation.

Saving the Open Spaces
Ranchers have a financial stake in making sure that federal rangelands remain as healthy and productive as possible. The long-term lease system creates a financial incentive to maintain rangelands which produce valuable grasses year after year. And since the permits are tied to private acreages and add to the value of private ranches, incentives are increased. The federal grazing program has been so successful that an internal BLM memo of a couple of years ago noted that federal rangelands are in the best shape that they have been in for 100 years.

Ranchers are a part of our society that the country can ill-afford to lose. Their culture and associated values are those that have helped to make the West so special to residents and visitors alike. Their ability to use federal grazing lands profitably helps them to keep their ranches financially viable while helping rangelands to stay healthy and productive. And their ability to operate profitably determines whether private ranches will stay ‘open spaces’ or be converted into subdivisions and ranchettes.
Resource Roundup hopes that you will Support America’s Ranchers!!!

(Posted By: Angie Many | 13th July 2002 | 01:15:30 AM. )