Grazing Relations — Abstract of Paper


The Importance of Federal Grazing Allotments to Central Sierran Oak Woodland Permittees: A First Approximation
Adriana Sulak¹ and Lynn Huntsinger¹


The interlinkage of privately owned foothill oak woodlands and federal grazing permits in the central Sierra Nevada is examined. Knowledge of the viability of the range livestock industry is important to large-scale conservation of hardwood rangelands in the Sierran foothills. Because ranches in the Sierra often use USDA Forest Service grazing allotments, efforts at land conservation may be influenced by Forest Service grazing decisions. We conducted in-depth interviews with Sierra foothill ranchers with federal grazing permits, asking what they would do if their allowable forage use was reduced. We found that replacing the lost forage with other leased lands is the most common solution anticipated by ranchers. Reducing the size of the herd is another strategy ranchers were willing to consider. Diversification and quitting ranching were the least popular coping mechanisms, and selling the ranch was in between. Decision-makers and conservation groups must take these strategies and the problems they pose into account when developing programs for private ranchlands. As it was found that almost all ranchers in the study leased some of the land they used, the continued availability of leased land, public and private, is likely to be a factor in the sustainability of central Sierran ranches.