Federal land management

Federal land management

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Livestock producers and, those in the livestock sector, like Caitlin Glover of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, realize the public at large may not understand the significance of federal lands to their operations, particularly in the western U.S.. Federally managed lands are incredibly important to a number of Western operations, whether you're talking about cattle or sheep production in the West Or because of federal ownership the number of regulations livestock producers must operate under on federal lands via multiple use permits. Cattle producers Sheep producers do have to abide by not only the conditions of their permit and they pay for the ability to access those landscapes, but they also abide by a number of federal regulations. Whether you're talking about the Federal Land Management and Policy Act or the National Forest Management Act or the National Environmental Policy Act or any number of other federal rules and regulations. This is a pretty stringently managed program, but it's managed for the benefit of the landscape. Yet Glover notes that ranchers with these permits to graze on federal lands and the livestock with access to such acreage play a significant role in land management. Ranchers do engage, and they are sort of the front lines of the management of some of these areas when they put their cattle or their sheep out on these landscapes in those allotted numbers that are managed by the federal government determined by the federal government. But really, what you see is this really cooperative relationship between ranchers, between local communities and between federal authorities to manage those grassland, to make sure that there's not only enough grass for livestock and for other uses, but also enough forage for wildlife and for some of these other non livestock, non domesticated species. Speaker1: Ranchers using federal lands for grazing also participate in several farm bill programs related to conservation and livestock. Speaker2: What you're seeing is a pretty careful managing of these landscapes to make sure that the uses are balanced. This is incredibly important when you're talking about federal landscapes as well to make sure that these land are managed for a variety of needs, a variety of uses, and make sure that the landscape remains healthy as well.
Previous ReportEliminating farm pests
Next ReportMosquito Protection