The federal government owns more than 57% of the state of Utah. The USDA, through the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976 (previously through the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934), manages the amount of grazing that is allowed on that land, called allotments. The purpose of the FLPMA is:

To establish public land policy; to establish guidelines for its administration; to provide for the manage­ ment, protection, development, and enhancement of the public lands; and for other purposes.(*)

The allotment “applies to livestock operations on the public lands or on lands within National Forests in the eleven contiguous Western States and which:

(1) prescribes the manner in, and extent to, which livestock operations will be conducted in order to meet the multiple-use, sustained-yield, economic and other needs and objectives as deter- mined for the lands by the Secretary concerned; and

(2) describes the type, location, ownership, and general specifications for the range improvements to be installed and maintained on the lands to meet the livestock grazing and other objectives of land management; and

(3) contains such other provisions relating to livestock grazing and other objectives found by the Secretary concerned to be consistent with the provisions of this Act and other applicable law. (*)

Allotments are granted setting the number of cattle/sheep for a given area. These allotments last ten years, but can be renewed. There are certain rules and guidelines for using these allotments.

One of my favorite homewaters is located in Franklin Basin, the headwaters of the Logan River, one of the last strongholds of the Bonneville cutthroat trout. This allotment has been getting overrun with cattle, which is wreaking havoc on the riparian areas. (See the data pictures [PDF] of two weeks into the grazing season and at the end of the grazing season). The National Forest Service Ranger District’s District Rangers are in charge of establishing viability of the land for grazing.

The environmental assessment for the most recent renewal of the Franklin Basin allotment found it to be only 20% capable of supporting grazing, but the District Ranger went ahead and granted the same amount of grazing as in past years. The Western Watersheds Project (and some others) filed an appeal [PDF], which was ignored. On December 9, 2009, the USDA, through the Forest Supervisor, Brian Ferebee, sided with WWP:

After considering your issues and the project documentation, the ARO recommends the District
Ranger decision be reversed.  A copy of the recommendation is enclosed.

After careful consideration of the above factors, I agree with the ARO that the decision needs to
more clearly define how the 500 acres of unsatisfactory rangeland will move toward a
satisfactory condition.

I reverse the District Ranger’s decision to implement the Franklin Basin Allotment Project.
My decisioQ constitutes the final administrativedetermination ohhe Departm-ertlofAgricultore
[36 CPR 215.18(c)].(see the full letter here [PDF])

I’m hoping one of my favorite places to fish gets a little relief this year. Thank you WWP! (The Utah Director for te WWP, John Carter, only lives a few block from. But I’ve never met him. I need to go over and give him a handshake.)

See the WWP’s brief on this victory.

* Taken from The Federal Land Policy and Management Act http://www.blm.gov/flpma/FLPMA.pdf

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