Public Lands Council is Invaluable to Ranchers

September 23, 2024

Since 1968, the Public Lands Council has actively represented the cattle and sheep producers who hold public lands grazing permits.

During the PLC's annual meeting in Grand Junction, Colo., American Sheep Industry Association President and Wyoming rancher Brad Boner explained why public lands, ranchers and their livestock are a key component to America's federal landscape.

"It's huge not only for wildfire control, but it helps us feed this country and clothe this country," said Boner. "It's a resource that that, you know, allows us to be, food secure and not have to rely solely on or mostly on imported product to, to feed this country, which would be a horrible thing for us to, to get to, you know, as a, as a matter of national security."

Ranchers are concerned, he says, with the BLM new public lands rule, which elevates conservation to the same multiple use level as grazing.

"I think we have 40 years of great working with building these working relationships with these agencies in the in the agriculture in the West and really I think have a great success story there," said Boner. "What we've done with the resource over the last 30 or 40 years, it's the resource is better, it's improved. The relationship that we're we're doing what we need to do to help, make the resource better. And then all of a sudden, you know, this administration decides to throw a bomb in the middle of that relationship with the with the conservation rule and it just makes it tough. The trust factor starts to go out the window a little bit on both sides. And so it's like rebuilding the relationship all over again. And, and that's, that's too bad that that happened."

He says it's issues like this that makes the work PLC does on behalf of public lands ranchers invaluable PLC is huge for, our members.

"Sixty percent of the sheep in the U.S. run on public lands at some point in time," said Boner. "So, it's it's a huge piece of what we do and really enjoy our collaborative effort, working effort with with both NCBA and the National Grazing Lands Coalition to, to to, you know, make our money go further, get a bigger bang for our buck through PLC."

Public lands grazing is the economic backbone of countless rural communities within 11 western states, and the work of America's ranchers keeps our nation fed, clothed and healthy. To learn more about the PLC, you can visit www.publiclandscouncil.org.

Source: Western Ag Network