Gila National Forest Accepted the First Voluntary Waiver of a Livestock Grazing Permit
A Meat and Dairy Industries Article from All-Creatures.org

All of God's creatures have rights, a fact that most people don't seem to recognize. This includes both human and non-human animals, but not all of them can speak for themselves. As we continue to disregard the value of the lives of the billions of animals we eat, we also are destroying our air, land and water.

FROM

Wild Earth Guardians
August 2014

This novel and inventive approach to resolving public land grazing challenges in the region pays ranchers $5 to $15 per acre to voluntarily waive their permits and offers reprieve to lands and watersheds that have been left threadbare and vulnerable by years of overgrazing, drought, and wildfire.

livestock grazing permit Gila
Historic conservation returns to 50 square miles of the Gila Bioregion

In April 21, 2014, the Gila National Forest accepted the first voluntary waiver of a grazing permit in the bioregion. The U.S Forest Service administratively suspended use of the Deep Creek Allotment- a 44 square mile area- and will vacate the grazing allotment for at least 10 years and cannot reissue the permit without full compliance with NEPA and ESA requirements.

In the face of dramatically changing economic and climate conditions in this rugged part of New Mexico, ranchers, the U.S. Forest Service, and conservationists are crafting creative approaches to restore the landscape and give people the freedom and flexibility they need in challenging times. This spring, WildEarth Guardians kicked off a voluntary grazing permit retirement program. We now offer ranchers the opportunity to waive their grazing permits back to the U.S Forest Service in exchange for monetary compensation.

livestock overgrazing lobos
Lobos will benefit from this grazing-free safe zone

This novel and inventive approach to resolving public land grazing challenges in the region pays ranchers $5 to $15 per acre to voluntarily waive their permits and offers reprieve to lands and watersheds that have been left threadbare and vulnerable by years of overgrazing, drought, and wildfire.

Like outdoor recreation, ranching has strong ties to public lands and the traditions of the American west. But for too long, the impacts of livestock grazing on the land, water and wildlife have outpaced nature’s capacity to recover. This is especially true in the Greater Gila Bioregion, where nearly 90% (4.2 million acres) of the Forest Service lands are presently authorized annually for grazing. Years of drought and recurring large wildfires have compounded the impacts of ranching in the region.

The owners of Deep Creek Ranch and WildEarth Guardians entered into an agreement to provide monetary compensation in exchange for the voluntary waiver of the grazing permit, laying the groundwork for lasting stewardship in the region. The Deep Creek Ranch permit authorized 205 head of cattle and 8 horses year-round on the forest. The allotment is more than 28,000 acres (44 square miles) and located east of the town of Alma in Catron County, NM on the Gila National Forest. The allotment experienced longstanding challenges between livestock grazing and Mexican gray wolves from the Dark Canyon Pack.

WildEarth Guardians has another permit retirement agreement signed and is collaborating with other ranchers in the Greater Gila Bioregion to voluntarily waive their grazing privileges. With Wilderness areas and Inventoried Roadless Areas comprising a landscape that is 1.3 times the size of Yellowstone, the Greater Gila Bioregion is a national conservation treasure; and easing some of the conservation challenges faced by this region opens the door for exciting and collaborative conservation opportunities.


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