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October 2009
by Dan Gralian

When Horace Greeley cried “Go West young man!” he started a stampede westward or more appropriately, a migration from the east to settle the west. Drawn with the desire to own their own land, folks left the security of family & home and set out to claim this “free” land being offered to anyone with the fortitude to start a new life on the western frontier.

As they settled their way across this west, roads were built; towns and communities sprung up, and schools were started. When they finally hit the Pacific Ocean, they turned around to look back to see what lay behind. In addition to farms, ranches and frontier settlements, they saw some 80 million acres of unclaimed land. Some of this unclaimed land was forest, but the vast majority was arid and semi-arid desert type rangelands where it was impossible to make a living from the 160 acres or even the 1,120 acres later allowed homesteaders.

However, some enterprising pioneers settled bottom lands and key water sources on this arid rangeland and laid claim to the “grazing rights” on adjacent open range. This formed the foundation of our public lands grazing rights as we know them today.

When word reached back east and across the ocean of the vast acres of open range available for fee grazing, a new stampede was started. This time it was greedy and often unscrupulous investors, who for a small cash outlay could buy cattle & sheep and hire cowboys and herders to move their herds onto this open range. With very little overhead, they could reap huge profits from the sale of beef, lamb and wool. In the 1870’s, there were approximately 4 million cattle and 5 million sheep grazing this open range. By 1900, over 20 million cattle and 25 million sheep crowded the range. Overgrazing soon lead to rangeland degradation. When no forage remained, these “gypsy” outfits would pack up and move their herds elsewhere; leaving behind the bona fide livestock operators that were committed to the land.

Responding to the outcry of these bona fide ranchers over the misuse and abuse of the rangeland, the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 was passed. Some 65 million acres of open range was divided into grazing districts and grazing allotments were assigned to the established livestock operations with their deeded lands and water rights being used as “base property.” A lease or “grazing fee” was charged for these grazing rights and a portion of this fee was set aside for range improvements.

This was the basis of our public lands as we know them today. And with this new structure began the very first phase in the healing process of these vastly overgrazed rangelands.

In 1946, the Bureau of Land Management was created and assigned the task of managing these public lands. At that time, almost all their emphasis was placed upon livestock grazing and mining. As our nations population grew, so did interest in our public lands. Changing social values and environmental interest brought about the passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976. With it came competing interest in the use of our public lands to include: hunting & wildlife habitat, recreation, clean water, riparian management & wetlands, cultural resource protection and establishment of wilderness areas. (And then came the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but that is a subject all in itself.)

This new awareness of our environmental and natural resources prompted the next phase in the healing process of our public lands. Through education and science, we began to develop better understanding of our riparian and uplands and the relationship between the two. Through trial and error, we developed better land stewardship practices and the condition of our rangelands continued to improve.

We have now entered another phase of the healing process of our public lands. I call it the: The Maintenance and Enhancement Phase.

Today, our rangelands are in better shape than they have been in 110+ years. This land that was once devastated through ignorance and greed has healed or well on its way of doing so. It is estimated that there are less than 2 million cattle and sheep grazing our public lands today. (Granted, there are still a few operators out there who may be mismanaging the land, but they are very much in the minority.)

And now today we have a new land rush. The quest for renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and geothermal power has caused this modern day stampede. And here in the west, the vast majority of it is taking place on our public lands.

As the renewable energy stampede develops, we “old timers” need to get involved. We need to join in the discussions as to site location, potential impacts and the long & short term planning and development of these renewable energy projects. We need to go in with both eyes and ears open, but also our minds.

There is an old saying: “First in time . . First in right.” And, we need to keep our livestock operations viable and protect the grazing rights that our forefathers fought for when they came west and settled this land of which few people wanted. And, we need to ensure that we don’t undo all the good that we have done over the last eleven decades. But, we also need to not stand in the way of progress, for that was the driving force that settled this land in the first place.

Now when it comes to energy; its’ development and use, I’m not a purest. I still believe in the responsible exploration, mining, development and use of fossil fuels. But, I also believe that there is a lot of potential for “green” energy. I believe that if done properly, it can have a minimum of impacts on our land, livestock and wildlife. And will be good for our environment and our economy.

So let’s get in this new stampede. Let’s do it with an open mind and a good attitude and still protect our natural, cultural and environmental resources.

On a lighter note, I’ve had a lot of comments about my article on modern technological developments and family entertainment. Mostly from the 60+ generation. NCBA President Gary Voogt pondered about what you should call people who twitter. Do you refer to them as Twitterers or just Twits?

Until next month . . . . . . Thank You (And such)

 

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