HISTORY OF GRAZING ON PUBLIC LANDS

Utah State Office
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Click here for music

Since the country' earliest days, Congress recognized the public lands as a national asset.  As the nation acquired new territory through treaty, purchase, or conquest (see below), Congress directed that it be made available in order to promote settlement of the West.   Much of the original 1.8 billion acres of the public domain was given or sold to individuals, corporations, and states.  However, in the late 19th century, Congress began to redirect Federal land policy as lawmakers recognized the importance of retaining certain lands in public ownership.  During this time, the first National Forests, National Parks, and National Wildlife Refuges were designated.

During the western migration of the mid and late 1800s, rangelands attracted settlers who wanted to build a new life of ranching, farming, business, and mining.  As settlement continued, competition for land and water intensified.  Land was put to uses that were not sustainable over the long term, and insufficient thought was given to future needs.

In the 1930's, when overgrazing threatened to reduce Western rangelands to a dust bowl, Congress approved the Taylor Grazing Act (TGA) of 1934, which for the first time regulated grazing on the public lands through the use of permits.   The Taylor Grazing Act provided a way to regulate the occupancy and use of the public land, preserve the land from destruction or unnecessary injury, and provide for orderly use, improvement, and development.  In 1964, Congress established the Public Land Law Review Commission to make recommendations on how the public lands should be managed.  Congress responded to the Commission's report by enacting the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) in 1976.

Utah
The BLM manages nearly 23 million acres of public lands in Utah, accounting for about 42 percent of the State's land base.  In Utah numbers of permitted Animal Unit Months (AUMs) have steadily decreased from 1,748,270 in 1940, to 868,163 in the 1995/96 grazing year.  Numbers of operators have dropped from 4,380 to 1,572 during the same time.   This decrease in grazing has allowed the rangelands to regenerate back to a healthy condition.  Historic photographs have been retaken and compared as a means of showing the change in condition. 

The BLM Today
The results of the nation's early settlement policies have exceeded the wildest 19th century expectations.  People continue to move westward to take advantage of economic opportunities.  But they are also attracted by the West's quality of life - open space, spectacular scenery, clean air, and clean water.  These virtues are often attributable directly to the presence of public lands.  And these lands provide significant economic benefits to the nation and to the counties where they are located.   The BLM is one of the top revenue-generating agencies of the Federal government, taking in more money than it spends each year.

  RECENT HISTORY     

Introduction
The Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), manages approximately 264 million acres of public rangelands throughout the western United States.  The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 guide BLM's management of livestock grazing on public lands.  Recent changes to BLM's rangeland management regulations are designed to speed restoration of public rangelands while improving the delivery of services to public land users.

In 1991, the BLM Director asked the National Public Lands Advisory Council to recommend how BLM could improve rangeland management.  A "Blue Ribbon Panel" of the Council cited a need for developing goals and objectives that sustain natural systems while providing for human needs and desires.  The panel recommended that BLM develop rangeland program goals and objectives based on modern ecological concepts to ensure protection of the basic resources (soil, water and vegetation) and the sustainability of the rangeland systems.

Using the 1992 Blue Ribbon Panel Report and concerns raised by both industry and conservation groups as starting points, BLM initiated a review and analysis of livestock grazing management on public lands.

New Regulations
Beginning in the spring of 1993, the Department of the Interior held five western town hall meetings to discuss improvement of public rangeland management.  Public scoping for an Environmental Impact Statement also began.  Proposals to amend the grazing regulations were described in a booklet entitled Rangeland Reform '94.   Comments were used by BLM to help shape and refine the proposed regulations.   The Department and the BLM met on twenty separate occasions with groups around the West including governors, state and local officials, ranchers, environmentalists and other public land users.

In the spring of 1994, BLM published proposed changes to the grazing regulations and a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  To encourage public comment, BLM and the Forest Service held 48 "open houses" and hearings throughout the West on the proposed rule and draft EIS.  More than 1900 people testified at these hearings.

In addition to considering testimony from these formal hearings, BLM received and considered more than 20,000 additional comments from over 11,000 people on the proposed rulemaking and its accompanying analysis.  The final grazing regulations were published February 22, 1995.  In response to a request from several western Senators, implementation was delayed until August 21, 1995.  The final regulations were substantially modified based upon public comment.  The most notable change was to drop the grazing fee proposal.

BLM has administered public land grazing under the new regulations since August 21, 1995.  In addition, 24 newly formed citizen Resource Advisory Councils helped BLM to develop standards of rangeland health and guidelines for grazing management.  These Resource Advisory Councils, who meet regularly, are of a diverse and balanced composition to represent the full spectrum of multiple uses and operate in a cooperative and collaborative manner.  The role of the Resource Advisory Council (RAC) is to provide advise and local perspectives to the BLM.   Members must reside in the State of their jurisdiction.  The BLM is very grateful to the many RAC members, permittees, leasees and interested members of the public who devote many hours to maintaining and improving the health of the public rangelands.

Accessions to the Public Domain

From Public Land System of the U.S., Historical Outline by S.V. Proudfit, GPO 1924

Other interesting sites:
Additional information on Public Land Management history available here.
What are the Public Lands?  Click here.