Grazing Management of the Public Lands: Opening the Process to Public Participation
Land & Water Law Review, Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 571, 1991
26 Pages Posted: 4 Sep 2009
Date Written: 1991
Abstract
Livestock grazing on the western public lands has long been a subject of public environmental concern, but the public has had little voice in the management of such grazing. In this article, the author explores the institutional barriers to public participation in grazing management that have been erected by the United States Bureau of Land Management, and then discusses a recent decision in an administrative appeal that may help to break down those barriers. He presents an overview of the management processes that govern livestock grazing on BLM lands, of the statutory and regulatory provisions affecting public participation in those processes, how the BLM's interpretation and application of those statutes and regulations has stymied effective public participation in grazing management, the decision in Feller v. BLM overturning the BLM's interpretation of one critical regulation, and finally the implications of the decision for future public participation in BLM grazing management.
Keywords: Natural Resource Law, Water Law, Land Use
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation