Ranching in a Fish Bowl

Jared Brackett raises black angus cattle in a very remote area known as the Antelope Springs Allotment, southwest of Twin Falls. He grazes 600 cow-calf pairs on 50,000 acres of federal, state and private land in the allotment. You might say that Brackett ranches in a fish bowl because he manages his cattle alongside premium habitat for sage grouse, a candidate species for listing under Endangered Species Act. The Bureau of Land Management is under court order to manage the area with tight controls to protect sage grouse habitat. But Brackett, the incoming president of the Idaho Cattle Association, doesn’t worry too much about that because Antelope Springs has plenty of feed and habitat for cattle and wildlife, he said. “This is as good as it gets,” Brackett said. “We’re quite proud of it. Unless you have something to hide, there’s nothing to be scared of. Because in the end, the resource will show what’s there.” BLM officials say that Brackett takes excellent care of the Antelope Springs Allotment by following tightly controlled management guidelines, which allow for a maximum of 30 percent utilization of native grasslands in the allotment. “On average, his grazing utilization is 20 percent or less,” says Ken Crane, supervisory range conservationist for the BLM in Twin Falls. “He’s well within what he’s required to meet, so we’re pretty comfortable.” Brian Kelly, Idaho State Supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, complimented Brackett on his range stewardship. “The sustained efforts of Jared Brackett exemplify the land ethic, leadership and commitments necessary to ensure the long-term health of rangelands in the West,” Kelly said. Over the years, the Forest Service, BLM and Natural Resources Conservation Service have partnered with ranchers to develop 50 miles of water pipelines in the Antelope Springs Allotment. The pipelines deliver water to many cattle troughs scattered throughout the allotment. “It’s that group effort that makes it work,” Brackett said of the partnerships with the federal agencies. The entire allotment is divided into 13 different pastures for year-round grazing — winter, spring, summer and fall. Fencing and agency regulations control where the cattle can graze during each season. The water developments give Brackett and the BLM lots of flexibility. If they don’t want cattle to graze in a particular area, they turn the water source off, and push the livestock to another area with water and salt blocks...more