4-5 FB Grazing Pulic Land

Grazing on public lands. Here we go again with that famous topic. On one side you’ve got the environmentalists saying no, on the other livestock producers saying yes.

 I’ve been covering this story of grazing on public lands for years but it’s always been about the combatants who had skin in the game. But now, according to a publication called agweekly.com, a new statewide poll found that 89 percent of Idaho residents approve of livestock grazing as a legitimate practice on public lands, and 85 percent support it as an appropriate use along with hiking, camping, mountain biking, horseback riding, fishing and hunting.?     The statewide telephone poll of 618 Idaho households was conducted by the University of Idaho Social Science Research Unit for the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission (IRRC) in December. We’ve heard from the people, now let’s hear from sheep producer Tim Bennett from the Lava Lake Ranch near Carey: “If it’s done properly it’s very healthy for a lot of reasons…environment, fire hazards, there’s a list of things. Helps the economy, feeds people.”