What is a Cattle Grazing Permit?

Out west you hear ranchers say things like “turning out” or “moving to the next allotment.” I realize there are many who don’t know what these terms mean, or have a misconception of what a grazing permit is. Grazing permits are a crucial part of many operations in the western United States, including ours. So I thought I would write a short blog with some basic information.

In the western United States there are millions of acres owned by the federal government. Forests Service and Bureau of Land Management manage this land.

Going back centuries ranchers have been grazing cattle and sheep on all this wide open space. In 1897 congress stepped in and appointed the Forest Service to regulate grazing on federal land, after realizing how big outfits where strong arming smaller homesteaders for grazing. The Forest Servise created permits, and controlled herd and allotment size, as well as seasons of use, to help create fairness and protect resources.

There are many misconceptions about grazing on public land.

Owning a permit doesn’t mean permitees actually own any of the land, they just own the right to use that land for grazing. Permits can be very costly to buy, and you are taxed yearly on the value. Many people think we use this land for free. I can assure you we do not. In addition to the cost of purchase, and the tax, we pay yearly per animal unit month(AUM). We are also responsible for much of the fencing and water development and maintenance.

We work closely with BLM and FS on how many cows we turn out and for how long depending on the year, and conditions.

Cattle on these permits is an all around win. 

It’s a win for us, and the cattle to get them out on good grass and away from each other helping prevent sickness. 

It’s a win for the government, who is able to collect revenue on millions of acres of open land. 

It’s a win for wildlife who like to graze on shorter more tender grasses. The cows provide that habitat for them by eating the grass when it’s taller and more course. Allowing the more tender grass to come back. 

It’s a win for the environment. Cattle eating this grass down yearly is a healthy cycle of sequencing carbon, that puts nitrogen back into to soil to grow healthier grasses, that release oxygen. Cows also help the environment, and wildlife by eating the fuels that create wildfires. I think we can all agree, the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere by these huge fires is terrible for our environment, not to mention the devastation fires have on wildlife habitat. Why not have cattle help prevent that.

It is also win for communities. Helping provide jobs from forest riders, herders, range conservationists, fence builders, and ranch hands. Without this industry the small population in many these rural areas of the west would disappear.

This is a very basic explanation of what a grazing permit is. The history is much longer and full of controversy. But next time you are out enjoying your public lands, and you see some cattle or sheep grazing I hope you can see the overall benefits.

If you listen to any of these extremes environmental groups they will tell you a different story. They also have a different agenda. The only agenda ranchers have is to care for their livestock, and livelihoods, and to do that we must care for the land. .