You’ve probably heard ranchers make the argument that we must preserve public land ranching in the West or ranchers will be forced to sell their private land and it will be developed into residential subdivisions.
Most of a public land ranch, however, is typically made up of federal land managed by the Bureau or Land Management (BLM) or the Forest Service. The federal land associated with the ranch, called a grazing allotment, cannot be developed because the rancher doesn’t own it – the American public owns it.
But a public land ranch also includes a private parcel, called the base property, which is typically located adjacent to the federal grazing allotment for which the rancher has the grazing permit. This private land, of course, can be developed. First, however, it has to be marketable as a multi-residential property. And many ranch base properties are too small, too remote, only accessible by bad roads, have no nearby shopping, no available utilities, or lack a sufficient water supply.
But even when a ranch base property does have the potential for residential development, the economic rewards for selling or developing it are always going to be there, irregardless of federal grazing management policy. And most public land ranches in Arizona aren’t very profitable because the climate is too arid, so selling a base property is only going to get more tempting in the long run due to climate change. It’s probably only a matter of time before most of the more attractive properties are sold and developed.
I concede, however, that some public land ranchers will sell or develop their base properties if their federal grazing permits are reduced or canceled. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing because the popular cry about preserving open space is primarily an aesthetic concern. That’s because protecting open space doesn’t necessarily equate to wildlife habitat preservation. A ranch base property, for example, has already been developed in regards to its value as natural wildlife habitat. In many cases, the differences between the land being used as a ranch base or a residential area are minimal to the local wildlife because most base properties already have a house, and many include barns, sheds, junk piles, and denuded holding pastures. If they were developed as residential areas, the landscaping installed by the new homeowners could actually increase the quantity and quality of local wildlife habitat, especially if native plants are used.
Furthermore, when a ranch base property is converted to residential use, there are no longer any cattle degrading the wildlife habitat on the adjacent federal grazing allotment. Since the average federal grazing allotment is tens of thousands of acres in size, the improvement in the condition of the allotment after the cessation of livestock grazing can more than offset whatever loss of wildlife habitat may result from the conversion of the ranch base property to residential development.
I realize more people in the area would likely create new environmental problems, like increased traffic, sewage concerns, and unleashed dogs preying on wildlife. But it’s a safe bet that most of the new residents would be more interested in seeing the surrounding public lands managed primarily for wildlife, recreation, and watershed health, instead of natural resource exploitation – like cattle grazing.
I’m not saying that helping a public land rancher keep their operation going is never in the public’s interest. What I’m saying is that protecting public land ranching is not a government policy that will preserve open space in the West.