Ranchers wary of proposed BLM handbook

Cattle industry leaders fear ranches throughout the West stand to lose value and access to potential rangeland if the Bureau of Land Management implements a proposed change to its grazing handbook. BLM bases grazing densities on animal unit months — the amount of forage a cow would need to subsist for a month. Dustin Van Liew, executive director of the Public Lands Council, explained most grazing permits include a percentage of AUMs that still exist but have been suspended based on poor grazing conditions. Those AUMs may be reactivated once conditions improve. In the draft version of the BLM’s updated handbook, which offers guidance on how BLM rules should be implemented, the agency has proposed to give field managers authority to remove suspended AUMs that are unlikely to be active in the foreseeable future when they reissue grazing permits. Van Liew said ranchers consider permits property, and even suspended AUMs are taxed and carry weight with lenders. He worries it would more difficult for a rancher to get new land added to a permit than to demonstrate recovery of suspended land. “Our biggest concern is those suspended AUMs are part of the overall value of a permit to our members,” Van Liew said. Dick Mayberry, BLM’s rangeland management specialist, said the proposed handbook update is now under review by state BLM offices, and the agency hopes to release the final version during the summer. He said a public comment period isn’t required to update the guidance document...more