FEDERAL LANDS

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 established a clear “multiple-use” mandate for the management of federal lands, and that multiple-use mandate includes livestock grazing as a valued use of federal lands. Working with our national affiliate the Public Lands Council, CCA works to ensure that the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, and other federal agencies responsible for land management within the state recognize the important role that livestock grazing plays on federal lands.

Many CCA members hold permits for livestock grazing on federal lands. In exchange for making use of forage on these public lands, ranchers confer a number of environmental and management benefits upon the land, including habitat improvement for wildlife.

CCA works to ensure that federal lands remain available for livestock grazing and that grazing remains viable for federal permittees. Among CCA’s priorities are opening up vacant allotments to livestock grazing, and encouraging livestock grazing as a tool to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires such as those that have plagued the state in recent years.

Reducing the burdens imposed by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), has also been a priority. In January 2020, CCA welcomed CEQ’s announcement of the proposed rule-making on the Act, as reforming and streamlining NEPA analysis has been a focus of CCA and CCA’s public lands permittees in recent years. Read more about the proposed new NEPA rules here.

Given some environmental groups’ goal of removing livestock grazing from federal lands, CCA also routinely partners with legal allies such as the Western Resources Legal Center to safeguard livestock grazing on federal lands.

In California, much of CCA’s federal lands efforts are conducted through our affiliate, the California Public Lands Council (CalPLC).

Have questions on federal lands issues? 

Contact Kirk Wilbur at (916) 444-0845 or at kirk@calcattlemen.org.