PLC Kicks Off Annual Meeting in Flagstaff, AZ
September 17, 2025
Today, the Public Lands Council (PLC) begins their 57th Annual Meeting. This is where ranchers, policymakers, administration officials, and industry stakeholders from across the country meet to discuss the most urgent issues facing the federal lands ranching industry. For two days in Flagstaff, grazing permittees will have the opportunity to shape PLC’s policy book for the next year. They will also hear from Trump administration officials including USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Administrator Jessica Fantinato, U.S. Forest Service Tom Schultz, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik.
“Annual Meeting is the premiere event for federal lands ranchers to come together to discuss pressing issues and plan out our next year of advocacy work. The goal of this meeting is always forward-facing, on what we need to do to strengthen the ranching industry and ensure our way of life sustains for generations to come,” said PLC President Tim Canterbury. “Every year there are always issues, new and old, that we need to tackle together as an industry. This is also where we meet with the rest of western grazing community to learn more about the advancements in ranching technology and improved production practices.”
This year’s meeting takes place as grazing permittees are seeing progress on several issues they have faced over the past several years. The recent steps BLM has taken to rescind their Public Lands Rule, has brought much needed certainty to public lands ranching and there are several pieces of legislation that would increase grazing flexibility, delist recovered species, and utilize targeted grazing to prevent catastrophic wildfires.
“The input PLC receives from ranchers this week, is the guiding force behind how PLC works with Congress, federal agencies, and the court system for the next year. Grazing permittees have faced years of drought, catastrophic wildfires, and increasing amounts of government red tape that have threatened their livelihoods, but each year we come together to share how everyone deals with these generational issues,” said PLC Executive Director Kaitlynn Glover. “I am looking forward to strong policy debates this week and discussing the gains we have made this year on ensuring access to public lands and reforming outdated laws such as the Endangered Species Act and NEPA.”
Source: PLC
