Government agencies have increased cattle grazing on public land in the Desert Southwest during the region’s long-term ongoing megadrought by distributing large subsidies to ranchers. They have been rubber-stamping new ranching infrastructure projects as drought emergency measures to help ranchers access every bit of forage and keep as many cattle as possible on the land.
Tag Archives: Sonoran Desert
Arizona Water Protection Fund Grants Subsidize Arizona Ranchers
The Arizona Water Protection Fund (AWPF) was created in 1994 by the Arizona Legislature to protect and enhance the state’s streams and associated riparian habitat, but it’s been hijacked to provide agricultural subsidies – especially for ranchers.
Arizona Game & Fish Department Helping Wildlife That Go Moo
Habitat Partnership Committee grants awarded by the Arizona Game & Fish Department from the money raised during the annual Arizona Big Game Super Raffle of hunt permit-tags donated by the agency to hunting groups are required by law to be used for wildlife habitat improvements. But some of the money is being spent to subsidize …
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Livestock Forage Disaster Program A Disaster For Taxpayers
Ranchers in the desert Southwest have received large subsidies from the USDA’s Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) which have perpetuated unsustainable ranching on arid public land administered by the Bureau Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service.
The Myth About Livestock Waters on Western Public Lands
Several years ago I accompanied U.S. Forest Service staff on a horseback inspection of a livestock grazing allotment in the arid Superstition Mountains of the Tonto National Forest in central Arizona. As we neared a muddy stock tank perched on a chaparral-covered hill we scared off several mule deer that were taking a drink. The …
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