Thesis Title PageTABLE OF CONTENTSMES Grazing Thesis _1PRIVATE GRAZING ON PUBLIC LANDS: Uncovering the Struggle Between Dollars and Sense by Spencer Reed Cearns A Thesis: Essay of Distinction Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Environmental Studies The Evergreen State College June 2010This Thesis for the Masters of Environmental Study Degree by Spencer Reed Cearns has been approved for The Evergreen State College by ____________________________________________ Tyrus L. Smith Member of the Faculty June 9, 2010© 2010 Spencer Reed Cearns All rights reserved.Abstract Cattle have been grazing on America’s rangelands since the first settlers ventured westward. While settlements occurred along rivers and streams; the dryer, less fertile rangelands were used by ranchers to graze their cattle. As time went on these dry rangelands became increasingly contested by other land users and land disputes became common. In 1897 the federal government stepped in and began issuing grazing permits by charging a fee administered by the Forest Service, but the permits accounted for a small portion of the vast lands in the West. Ranchers were still free to roam their cattle on the majority of public lands. Fast-forward to today and the problem of private grazing on public lands has become a hotly contested problem both financially and more importantly, environmentally. This thesis offers environmentally charged policy-based strategies addressing the impacts that overgrazing has caused to the arid west, and suggests a few possible solutions to end the problem. Suggestions are made as to how the agencies involved can utilize regulations that are already in place to alter the management of the grazing permit program in order to bring about ecological change and environmental remediation of the land. By utilizing the proposal that would implement a yearly incremental increase in the grazing fee, as discussed with an eye toward allowing the rangelands time to recover, the agencies involved could increase the amount of money taken in by the grazing permit system, and benefit the environment at the same time.iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures…………………………………………………………………iv List of Tables…………………………………………………………………..iv Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………v INTRODUCTION/ HISTORY………………………………………………..1 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS……………………………………………….3 Ecological Impacts……………………………………………………4 Forest Health…………………………………………………………..4 Watersheds……………………………………………………………..5 Impacts on Wildlife……………………………………………………7 REGULATIONS………………………………………………………………11 Bureau of Land Management (BLM)…………………………….11 Forest Service………………………………………………………..14 ADMINISTRATION OF GRAZING ON PUBLIC LANDS………………17 BLM and Forest Service……………………………………………17 Permit Fees……………………………………………………………19 Stakeholders………………………………………………………….23 WHAT CITIZENS CAN DO…………………………………………………26 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)…………………….27 Limitations to NEPA………………………………………………..32 PROPOSALS………………………………………………………………….34 Selective Retirement of Special Allotments……………………34 Complete Federal Retirement…………………………………….36 Incremental Raising of Grazing Fees……………………………38 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………..41 ENDNOTES…………………………………………………………………...43iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Rio de Las Vacas in New Mexico (Photo 1)………………………5 Location of Federal Lands by Agency (Figure 1 ……………..17 LIST OF TABLES Table Page Fees Charged by Federal Agencies (Table 1…………………..21v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I wish to express my undying appreciation to my family. From my wife Dani who has put up with my graduate and law school careers, to my parents Dan and Teresa who instilled in me at a young age that education was not merely an option, but rather the expected. In addition, I wish to express my appreciation to Tyrus Smith for his tutelage and guidance throughout the production of this paper. Last, but certainly not least, I wish to thank Grandpa Jim, whose belief that education is the greatest investment one can make in their life has allowed me to complete graduate and law degrees and to study in places such as Hawaii and China. Thank you.1 PRIVATE GRAZING ON PUBLIC LANDS: Uncovering the Struggle Between Dollars and Sense The Rise of Grazing in the Arid West1 Cattle have been grazing on America’s arid rangelands ever since covered wagons brought the first settlers driving westward. Indeed, environmental historian Donald Worster says it was ―the invasion [of the West] by millions of head of exogenous horses, cattle, sheep and goats in the span of a few decades that must have come with the explosive, shattering effect of all-out war.‖2 As the West was explored, settlement occurred along rivers and streams where there was fertile soil, abundant vegetation and where water was easily available. The dryer, less productive, elevated rangelands remained generally undeveloped, so ranchers grazed their cattle on hundreds of millions of ―empty‖ acres. But as the 1800s progressed, even these dry, semi-arid grasslands became increasingly