Til the Cows Come Home: The Fatal Flaw in the Clinton Administration's Public Lands Grazing Policy
Environmental Law, Vol. 25, p. 703, 1995
12 Pages Posted: 4 Sep 2009
Date Written: 1995
Abstract
Since the first days of the Clinton Administration, the Department of the Interior, under the leadership of Secretary Bruce Babbit, has endeavored to develop policies to reform environmentally destructive livestock grazing practices on millions of acres of public lands in the western United States. In the face of bitter opposition from livestock ranchers and their congressional supporters, the Administration issued a succession of regulatory proposals exhibiting varying degrees of commitment to genuine change. None of the Administration’s proposals, however, recognize that large portions of the western public lands are poorly suited to livestock grazing because of scant rainfall, low productivity, rugged terrain, and adverse impacts to other, more valuable resources. Perpetuation of grazing on such lands will result in false expectations, wasteful expenditures of public funds, and continued environmental destruction.
Keywords: Natural Resource Law, Environmental Law, Land Use
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