Livestock Grazing on Federal Lands in the 11 Western States

Abstract

Almost half the land area in the 11 Western States is federally owned. Domestic livestock graze on 73% of this area. Federal land is estimated to supply 12% of all grazing resources in the region and to provide the equivalent of the feed required yearlong for 1.7 million head of cattle and 1.0 million sheep. These grazing lands provide energy, water, minerals, recreational opportunities, and wildlife in addition to forage for domestic animals. The forages, on federal lands represent a renewable natural resource and an economical source of feed for production of cattle and sheep. Loss of the products of grazing currently derived from federal lands would increase the scarcity of feed, meat, and wool. The mounting demands for both grain crops and meat point to an increase in importance of forages on both private and public lands to support the beef and sheep industries. Elimination of grazing from federal rangelands in the 11 Western States would require a shift of animals to other lands or would result in loss of these animals from the productive pool. More animals on non-federal lands would require more intensive use of private rangeland; acreage increases in pastures, harvested forages, and feed grains; more acres in cultivation; and greater dependence on feedlo ts for feeding for meat production. Only limited acreage is available for development of additional intensive pastures in the United States. The alternatives to less grazing on federal rangelands appear to us to be wasteful of natural resources and uneconomical for the producers dependent on these lands unless prices of meat and wool were to be increased considerably. Small communities and subsistence-type livestock operations within large areas of federal grazing land would suffer most if grazing on federal lands were eliminated. The grazing of herbage has been a natural process in grasslands, shrublands, and forests for as long as grazing animals have existed. The effect of grazing on the range environment depends upon the kind of vegetation, the intensity of grazing, the kind of animal, and the degree of management employed to control the animals. Experiments and widespread experiences show that moderate and planned grazing restores protective vegetational cover on deteriorated ranges, thereby reducing accelerated erosion and improving animal habitats. Planned grazing maintains good and excellent condition ranges. Most rangeland is better suited to all types of use today than it was before 1950.