When is a Rancher, Not a Rancher
In my view, a rancher is someone who actually owns a ranch. You know the place, hundreds of acres of ground they actually own, and can raise their cows or sheep on. Land that’s probably been in the family for generations, or maybe recently purchased. A place they take care of, knowing it needs to sustain those livestock for many more years.
Then there is the guy that owns livestock, but doesn’t own enough land to feed them. These people take advantage of the extremely cheap “rent” to keep their livestock on our federal public lands. The federal government charges only $1.35 per month for a cow-calf pair, even though leasing comparable private land costs an average of $23 a month in the West. They overgraze the land, destroy the natural water sources, and generally wreak havoc on our wild and natural public places. This Facebook post from Western Watersheds, shows how it all works.
Photo Credit Adam Bronstein-WWP
These people aren’t “ranchers,” they are sponging off the federal government, and federal programs allow them to graze their livestock for basically free. They don’t care that their livestock is destroying our public land, and why should they?! There is no accountability, and no management to speak of, coming from Bureau of Land Management or Forest Service range managers. And yet they have a huge sense of entitlement when it comes to the grazing allotments. Some even go so far as to use these allotments, that they don’t own, as collateral to get bank loans.
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