Enviro Coalition Buys Out Large Grazing Permit in Wyoming
A coalition of conservation groups has agreed to pay $250,000 to a Wyoming rancher to buy out her federal grazing permit, a deal that will keep cattle out of a 137-square-mile area that abuts Grand Teton National Park. The land is home to grizzly bears, wolves, lynx, bald eagles, and numerous other species. This is just the latest incidence in a spreading trend that has environmentalists negotiating directly with ranchers to remove cattle from public lands in the West, where the livestock are accused of causing erosion, damaging riparian areas, and threatening endangered species. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lease about 250 million acres for grazing at below-market rates that don’t cover the cost of the government program.
