Utilizing Livestock Grazing to Prevent Wildfires

Western ranchers are rallying behind bills aimed at using livestock grazing to prevent wildfires. Utah Congressman John Curtis says his "Operational Flexibility Grazing Management Act" ensures land managers can adapt to changing conditions…

“This bill streamlines the application and renewal process for granting permits, reduces administrative laze, and fosters better communications between ranchers and federal agencies.”

California Congressman Doug LaMalfa stressed that increasing livestock grazing will reduce the "fine fuels" that make fires burn hotter, faster, and much more dangerously…

“When fuels burn uncontrolled and so quickly from all the unmanaged fuels and underbrush, there’s a big part of the equation that leads to huge megafires that destroy forest towns and peoples’ lives.”

He adds that using livestock for fire fuel management is a common-sense approach…

“Cattle grazing on public lands provides valuable ecosystem benefits like food and water production, disease regulation, nutrient cycling, and crop pollination. They’ve been found time and again to be helpful in the cycling of the land, not the harm that is frequently overemphasized or even made up. It’s an important tool that unfortunately isn’t being utilized enough. As those of us here know, the West continues to face a wildfire and forest health crisis.”

Many ranchers also say these efforts are a key to protecting Western landscapes and communities.