By Kevin Proescholdt, Wilderness Watch
Recent reporting has exposed some of the many ongoing problems with livestock grazing on federal public lands. These problems include great resource damage, little oversight or repair of that damage, and the oversized political influence of ranchers and wealthy landowners. Despite this recent attention, little has been written about the many problems that livestock grazing causes specifically to designated Wilderness and its native wildlife.
Many people think that Wildernesses, those beautiful, wild areas designated by Congress under the 1964 Wilderness Act, are off limits to grazing by cattle and sheep. Unfortunately that is not the case.
According to a Wilderness Watch report, livestock actively graze about 10 million acres of the 52.4 million acres of designated Wilderness in the Lower 48 states. This includes grazing in over 330 Wilderness areas in all of the 11 western states, primarily public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service.
In addition to all of the problems that non-native cattle and sheep grazing inflict on Wilderness from physical resource damage, trampling of riparian vegetation, water quality impairment, and degraded wilderness conditions for visitors, livestock grazing also causes great harm to native wildlife in Wilderness. Here are a few examples:
• Upper Green River Allotment in Wyoming
The Upper Green River Allotment, at 170,000 acres the largest Forest Service grazing allotment in the nation, lies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem east of Jackson in prime grizzly habitat. Small parts of this allotment overlap the Gros Ventre and Bridger Wildernesses. Yet the Forest Service has authorized the killing of up to 72 grizzlies—supposedly protected as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act—over 10 years in order to protect the cattle that graze in that allotment.
• Domestic sheep impacts on wilderness bighorns
In places like the High Uintas Wilderness in Utah and the Weminuche Wilderness in Colorado, herds of domestic sheep graze in the habitats of native bighorn sheep. Yet domestic sheep can transmit a fatal form of pneumonia to native bighorn sheep, which usually decimates the bighorn herds.
• Utah’s predator killing
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources currently hires trappers to kill mountain lions and other native predators across broad swaths of public land, including a number of Wilderness areas, according to information shared at that agency’s Regional Advisory Council meetings in December. This predator killing is done primarily to protect livestock and artificially increase deer populations. But the mountain lion population in Utah—including in Wilderness—has steeply declined as a result.
To make matters worse, the U.S. taxpayers subsidize this damage to Wilderness and its wildlife, since federal livestock grazing fees are set so low in comparison to grazing fees charged by private landowners. The federal government charges ranching corporations only $1.35 per month for one cow and her calf, or five sheep, to graze on federal public land, which is only about 6 percent of the typical private land grazing fee, meaning that U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing the damage to Wilderness and its wildlife as described above.
Because of all the damage and degradation caused by livestock grazing in Wilderness, its relatively tiny contribution to the livestock industries, and the taxpayer subsidies it requires, it is well past time to end all livestock grazing in America’s National Wilderness Preservation System. We should instead protect these wild, natural gems as unmanipulated places for both their native wildlife and human visitors.
Kevin Proescholdt is Wilderness Watch’s conservation director.
WHAT YOU CAN DO HELP END LIVESTOCK DAMAGE TO WILDERNESS
Wilderness Watch applauds Representative Adam Smith of Washington State for reintroducing the Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act (VGPRA). The legislation will expand the successful model of voluntary federal livestock grazing permit retirement across the western U.S., including in Wilderness.
Specifically, the VGPRA (H.R. 5785):
- Authorizes ranchers in 16 Western states to voluntarily waive federal grazing permits or leases with the intent to permanently end livestock grazing on an allotment, including those in Wilderness.
- Ensures that any retired allotment cannot be re-leased for new grazing permits.
- Helps restore wildlife corridors, protect water quality, and reduce the costs of administering grazing programs.
The VGPRA stands in stark contrast to current administrative and legislative efforts to stock every vacant allotment—including in Wilderness—with livestock or increase grazing by reducing environmental review.
Click here to urge your representative to co-sponsor and pass the Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act (H.R. 5785) to protect Wilderness and its wildlife.
Photo (at top) by Lance Cheung/USDA
115 Comments
Don’t have sheep graze on federal public land!!
Cattle do a lot of damage and will eat grass to the nubs. They decimate areas. The are also the reason we have over half of our “wild” horse population incarcerated and often sold to ranchers for pennies only to resold to kill buyers at per pound rates. The taxpayer pays to have these horses rounded up, kept in less than decent conditions. The ranchers and their friends profit greatly from this arrangement. Wild horses do not do the damage to habitats and land like the cattle and sheep do.
Authorizes ranchers in 16 Western states to voluntarily waive federal grazing permits or leases with the intent to permanently end livestock grazing on an allotment, including those in Wilderness.
Ensures that any retired allotment cannot be re-leased for new grazing permits.
Helps restore wildlife corridors, protect water quality, and reduce the costs of administering grazing programs.
Hello,
Because of all the damage and degradation caused by livestock grazing in Wilderness, its relatively tiny contribution to the livestock industries, and the taxpayer subsidies it requires, it is well past time to end all livestock grazing in America’s National Wilderness Preservation System. We should instead protect these wild, natural gems as unmanipulated places for both their native wildlife and human visitors.
Thank you.
I think after 55 years of personal outrage that grazing on public lands, let alone in Wilderness units, continues despite the long list of negative externalities (at 1960s costs to “ranchers”) I can only come to two conclusions. 2 senators in low population/high percentage public lands western states and the gas-baggery of the American rancher mystique makes it all but impossible to come to reasonable decisions for the greater public good. It is the very definition of insanity to think it will ever change. Few back country experiences on public lands are more infuriating than hiking on cowpie, fly- infested trails to see meadows and riparian areas desecrated by these “land maggots” then to add insult to injury and be chased by some gawd damned slack ribbed, stinkin’, ornery brute instead of by natural large predators that are trapped and shot out to protect creatures owned by ranchers shamelessly suckling on the big government teat. (RIP Ed Abbey)
I fully agree with and support your work and thought on this important subject. Grazing domestic animals on wilderness land is just another incursion and wedge to allow development, in direct opposition to the rules and spirit of maintaining wilderness areas in this nation
What is the point of Congress passing laws to protect wilderness areas from commercial interests and intrusions if Congress then allows those ‘protected’ areas to be systematically invaded and polluted by commercial operations? Long-established wildlife protections have been disrespected and violated by livestock owners and complicit government officials, thereby turning wilderness regions into cattle and sheep grazing lands. The natural inhabitants of wilderness areas are being driven out and replaced by domestic livestock herds. And all of it occurring at taxpayer expense. Those commercially profitable herds of livestock trample the land, pollute both the land and the water with their activity and excrement, and are unflinchingly protected by their owners from the natural wildlife inhabitants that are now under threat of extinction as they lose their ‘protected’ habitats. Congress passed laws that promised to protect all wildlife and their wilderness homes. Promises made, promises broken. Greed rules. God save our beautiful and besieged wilderness areas.
I am totally against that livestock be allowed to graze in areas that should be protected for the wild life. Wilderness areas should be off-limits to livestock grazing.
IT HAS BEEN M A N Y D E C A D E S THAT WE HAVE KNOWN WITH
N O Q U E S T I O N THAT CATTLE ARE V E R Y D E S T R U C T I V E
TO OUR PRISTINE ECOSYSTEMS, ALTERING THEM D R A S T I C A L L Y
AND MOST OFTEN, P E R M E N A N T L Y !!!!
IT’S W A Y PAST TIME TO W A K E U P ! AND START RECOGNIZING AND PRIORITIZING THE PRICELESS VALUE OF BEING T R U E
S T E W A R D S OF OUR NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS!!
And in the February High Country News, Josephine Woolington writes THE BIRD and THE HERD, about cattle grazing’s impact on everything, especially greater sage grouse. The article includes Shoshoni-Bannock Tribal reaction to and mitigation of grazing impacts on their lands, which of course demonstrates the leadership of an agency that is so sorely needed from the BLM and the USFS.
There should be a balance so as not to disturb the natural environment. So as not to allow constituent grazing.
I urge you to pass the Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act (H.R. 5785) to protect wilderness and wildlife.
Livestock grazing is very detrimental to our environment, because of its erosive nature.
This is so important for a healthy native environment to restore native plant material for insects and wildlife, to provide the wildlife corridors used by animals before grazing and protect water quality.
The favoritism around the livestock industry is costing too much……to our natural environments, our native wildlife and always our waterways. Killing our native wolves to overly protect cattle is tragic!
Livestock grazing in wilderness areas is a vestige of the 19th century and serves no useful function today. It does do a lot of ecological harm and should be discontinued. The wilderness areas serve valuable conservation and recreation functions and we should protect them for those purposes.
We know the great harms and destruction that livestock grazing causes. What’s needed now is articles and essays with PLANS for doing something about it. I’ve long advocated educating young children with school programs and getting them to bug their parents to boycott beef. Let’s get some ideas on the table and start organizing! (Politicians are a lost cause without massive pressure from their constituents, because they’re all bought and paid for.)
happy to read your comments – you could have listed Pt. Reyes National Seashore in California as an example of wildlife v. cattle. after following this issue for awhile, it is easy to see that the ranchers have the sweetest deal ever and everything else takes a back seat.
thanks again and i totally agree with you – it’s time to end the subsidies and to keep the cattle off our public lands….most especially wilderness areas.
I’m totally opposed to livestock in wilderness areas. It upsets the whole balance of the ecosystem and when the ranchers purposefully kill the predators it just gets worse. Yellowstone is a perfect example of what can happen to wilderness areas when livestock is banned and predators are safe to keep the natural balance. Cattle especially make a huge mess with their hooves and excrement.
Over grazing is not a good idea. We demand action now and we will. We are here to find out why this is still going on now and we will. We are here to make sure this does not happen again because It won’t. We will be watching closely now and we will. We are here to make sure that wildlife have enough food to last a very long time now and they will. If this continues like this it will become a much bigger issue and problem and that will not be good at all. We are here to get answers not exuses and lies. We will get to the bottom of this now and we will.
We need to prioritize public lands for native wildlife and the enjoyment of all people. Many indigenous species have been eliminated for the sake of profits for ranchers. The addition of wolves to Yellowstone could not be more clear about the value of ecological balance.
FLEASH/MEAT FROM ALL ANIMALS ESPECIALLY THE innocent, NEVER BE SUSTAINABLE.
i have witnessed firsthand the damage caused by cattle grazing in New Mexico’s Wilderness areas. there has been a notable increase in the amount of cattle in the past year, including bulls in herds along well travelled trails. the trails are literally covered in cow manure making the idea of ‘wilderness’ literally a farce. the privilege and entitlement of permittees is not understood by the general public. this, together with an increase in hunting tags, has caused not only a notable decline in wildlife, but psychological dissonance about what constitutes a wild herd and how big those herds should. for example, the number of Big Horns in a group should be 50 -75. yet those numbers are kept at 5 – 10 or less. the technology of hunting has increased the kill rate, while tags have also increased. soon there will be no wilderness left.
Please pass H.R. 5785. We need to protect the wilderness and not bypass protections in place to support a private business. I do not buy cattle/meat or any products that the government is allowing to graze on taxpayer land. We need to protect these lands for wildlife and future generations and let private cattle businesses buy their own land or feed to run their businesses.
Keep livestock off of BLM and Forest Service land. They take food that is for the wildlife and not them.
Because of all the damage and degradation caused by livestock grazing in Wilderness, its relatively tiny contribution to the livestock industries, and the taxpayer subsidies it requires, it is well past time to end all livestock grazing in America’s National Wilderness Preservation System. We should instead protect these wild, natural gems as unmanipulated places for both their native wildlife and human visitors.
Over the years, BLM has done NOTHING to effect the bribery going on between BLM horse and burro roundups managers and wealthy livestock owners. Wild horse and burro grazing areas have been shrinking every year due to this problem. The cattle grazing pretty much ruins the grazing for all and the wild animals are paying for it.
This last roundup in Nevada, 7 horses died due to BLM contractors mismanagement and helicopter use. This is barbaric and should not happen. BLM doesn’t track new ownership of auction animals and many of these end up in slaughter houses. BLM is PATHETC!!!
As our population continues to increase, we have overrun many wild areas with domesticated animals–the sacred cows of America. If we continue along these lines, eventually we won’t have any wild animals, except in zoos. Sooner or later, we have to deal with this issue and make up our minds what our priorities are. I support reducing the use of federal lands for livestock grazing. For too long, private interests have taken advantage of the rest of us to use federal land as they please. This is welfare for the wealthy, and we need to reduce and eventually end it.
Stop the senseless killing of our wild animals! There certainly must be some solutions to the wild/domestic animal issues without this craziness! Our wild animals already face too many hardships and threats concerning their survival.
Preserve Wilderness and wild grasslands
You are absolutely right , I grew up on a farm , and know how domesticated animals can ruin the land , they should never be allowed to graze on national , or state lands , I go hiking in the wilderness area’s , and have seen how bad they make a mess of the lands , they are allowed to graze on . All my life I have said they should never be allowed on national park land . And the ranchers never pay enough money , for the destruction there live stock do to the land !
It’s time to end the federal subsidies, and give-away grazing leases, and restore wilderness & wildlife.
Our public lands should be OFF LIMITS to grazing. The livestock are invasive and destroy OUR land, fauna and wildlife. We need to stop the government WELFARE to the agriculture and livestock entities. They are for profit businesses and should purchase their own land. This welfare / handout needs to stop!
The wild horses and burros were protected in 1971 yet, we still torture them. WHY is WILDLIFE disposable to YOU ? Americans want our WILD LAND – WILD. Not with cows and sheep. I VOTE … please do NOT allow our federal lands to become a pasture for rich cattlemen.
IT’S TIME TO STOP livestock grazing on public lands and allow RENEWABLE energy sources INSTEAD.
We taxpayers would GLADLY pay for this beneficial outcome RATHER THAN one that destroys native flora, allows degradation.
We should instead protect these wild, natural gems as unmanipulated places for both their native wildlife and human visitors.
There’s no such thing as renewable energy, and that hideous crap certainly has no place in natural areas. If you want to stop the harms caused by human use of energy, use as little as possible in your personal life, and advocate for returning to living pre-industrially. That’s the only real solution to the energy problem, even though it will take 150-200 years to accomplish. And please don’t advocate for further degrading and ruining natural areas with things like solar panels and wind generators, there’s nothing natural about any of that.
Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man. – Stewart Udall
The wilderness is a wild area that does not belong to animal owners. The public domain is not their private feeding pasture. That is theft. Ranchers are thieves. Rancher should be prosecuted and thrown in jail for stealing our public lands for their own private use.
We as a community should eat less meat and decrease grazing and ozone destruction
It is criminal that meat pushers are calling the shots on our Public Lands. These lands are our natural heritage, not their entitlement. The entire meat industry is dirty, cruel, and unhealthy. When there is not a blade of grass left, then what? Humans must re-educate and eat much less or no meat. Stewardship of the land is the goal, not taking without regard.
It is long overdue to STOP public lands ranching! Ranching poses the biggest threat to wildlife, millions of wildlife are murdered every year by ranchers to protect cattle. This is obscene and detrimental to nature and wildlife. The influence of the ranchers lobby in our government is one of the most corrupted and it must be stopped.
I have witnessed the damage left behind by these “Cattle” being allowed to graze on our “Public Lands”, with absolutely no effort being made to lessen or remediate this ongoing destruction too.
We need better regulation of the U.S. Cattle industry that makes use of “Lands” that rightfully belong to every American, not simply cattlemen out to make a profit at costs taken from the public pocket!
Let’s return nature to nature and stop grazing of livestock on public lands. The public lands are for the people not corporations. Buy your own land if you have animals to graze, I don’t need to support you.
Stop despoiling our wilderness areas by allowing livestock grazing on these fragile lands.
It is hard to understand why we try to stop invasive weeds from spreading on our own lands and turn around and enable weeds to spread on wilderness lands? Something isn’t right.
Because of all the damage and degradation caused by livestock grazing in Wilderness, its relatively tiny contribution to the livestock industries, and the taxpayer subsidies it requires, it is well past time to end all livestock grazing in America’s National Wilderness Preservation System. We should instead protect these wild, natural gems as unmanipulated places for both their native wildlife and human visitors.
non-native cattle and sheep grazing inflict on Wilderness from physical resource damage, trampling of riparian vegetation, water quality impairment, and degraded wilderness conditions for visitors, livestock grazing also causes great harm to native wildlife in Wilderness.
Really haven’t bovines done enough damage to the West?
Amen. A senseless relic of times gone by.
This article speaks everything I ever could. I agree with this. This planet needs the wildlife and land to survive.
Free grazers should not be allowed. Wildlife deserves their natural habitats.
These ultra rich ranchers take advantage of our public lands destroying plants and killing wildlife.
Cattle should be removed from wilderness areas and national parks where they do not belong.
This is our land that should never be abused for any reason!
If you can consider putting the Action part of what to do in a brighter more obvious way on the post so that I can send the email to my rep? I think I might have missed doing this on past posts. Glad to do.
Please use this link to send an email to your Rep.:
https://wildernesswatch.salsalabs.org/vgpra-hr5785/index.html
Perhaps we should enlist the help of Indigenous herders to find better ways of protecting native flora and fauna. They have been doing that for hundreds of years. They honor both the land and the animals.
ALL livestock grazing is harmful, indigenous or not. Animal agriculture, human overpopulation, and the fact that individually humans eat way too much meat are the problems, not how the animals are grazed.
Keep Livestock Grazing off public lands. Give Wildlife a chance to live their lives peacefully. Let the Lands be free.
This welfare needs to stop. I have hiked in National Forest looking for wildlife only to come upon sheep and cattle.
Get the cattle out of ALL Wilderness and let the Real inhabitents roam free
This land shot be protected for people and wildlife that. Not domestic animals . This is corrupt.
It’s so disheartening to see just how little our government truly cares about the environment and the wildlife in this country. It angers me when I see just how much the almighty dollar is prized above all else.
It’s time to protect Wilderness from livestock grazing! We should protect these wild, natural gems as unmanipulated places for both their native wildlife and human visitors.
What price beef!
It’s time to protect Wilderness from livestock grazing! Due to all the damage and degradation caused by livestock grazing in Wilderness, its relatively tiny contribution to the livestock industries, and the taxpayer subsidies it requires, it is well past time to end all livestock grazing in America’s National Wilderness Preservation System. We should instead protect these wild, natural gems as unmanipulated places for both their native wildlife and human visitors.