Two environmental groups claim that inadequate reviews in Oregon, and the West allow livestock to overgraze land.
Cattle graze along Snake River. (Bureau of Land Management).
According to two new reports, the Bureau of Land Management renewed livestock grazing permits on public land in Oregon without conducting an environmental analysis, including on areas that have been overgrazed.
The reports were released by the Western Watersheds Project as well as the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. These are both non-profit environmental advocacy organizations.
It is available in itsReportWestern Watersheds discovered that Oregon’s bureau had repeatedly renewed permits for livestock to graze on public land without conducting new environmental assessments. This was a requirement under the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA.
The Public Employees for Environmental ResponsibilityFoundThe bureau allowed grazing on land that was not in compliance with state land health standards or that had been overgrazed. Overgrazing rangelands can lead to desert conditions in semi-arid rangelands. This can harm wildlife and worsen drought.
According to the bureau, it conducts annual assessments that are not related to renewal of permits.
According to Sarah Bennett, the chief of public affairs for Oregon or Washington at BLMs, a NEPA assessment can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. Our goal is to maintain the proper functioning of rangelands.
Renewal without onsite investigation
The Bureau of Land Management in Washington and Oregon oversees the permitting of approximately 14 million acres of rangeland. Most of it is in Oregon. Each 10 years, grazing permits can be renewed.
Mountain Spring, Oregon has been home to 2,470 cattle that have been allowed to graze on federal land since the 1970s.
Western Watersheds’ analysis revealed that Mountain Spring had not received an onsite environmental evaluation since 1999. It stated that other BLM grazing area in Oregon hadn’t received an environmental assessment since the 1970s. This means that their grazing permits were renewed four to five different times over the decades, without federal officials ever visiting the sites to complete a full assessment. Officials check for the presence of native plant and animal species in the grazing areas and the impact of animals congregating close to rivers and streams.
Bennett stated that the bureau regularly monitors and assesses grazing land through ten regional offices throughout the state.
She said that rangeland specialists, as well as range technicians, go out often to inspect the land and to keep an eye on how many animals an allotment supports to protect their health.
Matt McElligott is the chair of the Oregon Cattlemens Association’s public lands committee. He stated that all grazing land in eastern Oregon managed by the BLM are visited annually each year by officials from their local offices. The association represents more Oregon ranchers than 10,000
McElligott explained that someone often visits the land before and after grazing season in order to assess the health of the land, particularly around rivers and streams where cattle tends to congregate.
McElligott stated that the idea of being granted a permit and then 10 years pass without anyone looking at the ground again is not true.
He stated that most ranchers only go through the full assessment if there are significant changes such as the addition of livestock or the lighting of a fire.
McElligott stated that it is not necessary unless there has been a dramatic event.
Adam Bronstein is the director of Oregon’s and Nevada’s Western Watersheds operations. He said that vulnerable animals have to pay a high price when there is no onsite inspection for decades.
He stated that grazing has an impact on the native populations of bighorn sheep, red band trout, and antelope. Bronstein stated that exceptions that allow the bureau delay or to avoid performing onsite environmental analyses are a way for them to get around these issues. They don’t look at problems that are already compounding on the landscape.
The public is only allowed to voice their concerns during the renewal process. According to Western Watersheds analysis, 82% of Oregon’s grazing permits that were granted on BLM-managed land in Oregon were renewed during the last decade without an environmental assessment.
Bronstein explained that this means that the public has been excluded from the renewal process each time the permit was up. BLM is choosing to look the other way.
Grazing standards
Each state has its own environmental standards regarding grazing on public land. Shrubs must not exceed a certain height, or have a limit on the amount of bare ground.
According to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Oregon’s 5 million acres of federal land used for cattle grazing didn’t meet state health standards for one or two reasons. This is about half the total grazing land that the bureau manages in Oregon.
Most of the areas were overgrazed. Chandra Rosenthal, director for the Rocky Mountain office of the group in Colorado, stated that the bureau is abdicating its central responsibility to preserve public lands in perpetuity.
BLM is the nation’s largest land management agency. Rosenthal said that this agency manages vast swathes that are vital to biodiversity, the health of native species, public recreation, and all the other things you want to see in the future. They are still grazing sheep and cattle on land that does not meet agency standards.
Manufacture shortage
Both environmental groups as well as the Cattlemens Association believe that the BLM requires more resources.
Are they understaffed? McElligott stated that they need more staff. McElligott stated that making every renewal of grazing permit mandatory would add to the burden.
McElligott stated it would be a waste time and money.
Rosenthal believes that the Biden administration will bring more resources to the agency.
We understand that they want to increase the capacity. Rosenthal said that there were many cuts under the Trump administration. Our research shows that the agency does not have the resources to do the job they need. There are not enough people in the field.
Bennett stated that the agency is determined to do all it can with the resources it has.
Congress determines our resources. We are trying our best to fulfill our mandates and responsibilities using the resources available to us.
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