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One less band of sheep

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One less band of sheep

Postby Lefty » 07 30, 2018 •  [Post 1]

https://www.gohunt.com/read/lawsuit-ends-domestic-grazing-eastern-idaho#gs.cFxiwws

From my perspective it is about time. One big ram brings more money to the state than a band of sheep.

If Idaho would manage bighorn sheep population for hunting and tourism instead of supplementing domestic sheep herds.
My father in law ran cattle and it bothered him to no -end how cheap some grazing rights were( are). We just drove into an area on National forest Friday ; 18, 200 gallon new stainless water stock tanks were installed.

I would rather pay twenty thirty or 50 cents more a pound for beef than have so much livestock everywhere.
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Re: One less band of sheep

Postby wawhitey » 07 30, 2018 •  [Post 2]

Couple of my best whitetail areas are full of free range cattle, drives me nuts. Go check a cam on a mineral site and have 5,000 pics of cows hammering my minerals.
Real eyes realize real lies
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Re: One less band of sheep

Postby Lsb » 07 30, 2018 •  [Post 3]

You boys are itching for a fight with me on this issue.
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Re: One less band of sheep

Postby saddlesore » 08 01, 2018 •  [Post 4]

I know that many states overgraze on grazing leases, but a lot don't. It really depends on who is managing them BLM or NF . However, graze lease holders help wildlife by putting in watering tanks, lease holders,many times, help clear trails in order to drive their stock to grazing areas. In heavily brush,over grown areas,cattle will get in there and bust it down,making more browse and forage for wildlife.

Got to remember NF ,at least, is multi use.That means hunting, hiking, cyclist, timber sales, grazing leases,mineral leases.Everyone has to play nice.
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Re: One less band of sheep

Postby Lefty » 08 01, 2018 •  [Post 5]

I have no problem with resonable grazing, mining and timber cutting.
Grazing and mining is better than it was 30 40 years ago.
How ever there are still too many abusers in public lands.
Off roaders, and stockman in my opinion and experience have too great of numbers of the worst.

My biggest permission was from a sheepman. He properly grazed 10' s of thousands of BLM, and private ground.My father in law ran 1500 cow calf operation for years.
However the whole Idaho domestic sheep grazing I find quite annoying. Legislation was passed years ago regarding Idfg doing anything with wild sheep and domestic sheep.
Idaho should have 30,000 wild bighorns.
Domestic sheep keep those numbers at 10 % of that number in Idaho.
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Re: One less band of sheep

Postby Swede » 08 03, 2018 •  [Post 6]

Lefty wrote:I have no problem with resonable grazing, mining and timber cutting.


I agree. I made a career out of Forest Service timber management. Done responsibly timber harvest and cattle ranging on the forest is a benefit.
That said, range fees are ridiculously low. I did not look up the fee, but I fee confident it is less than $2.00 per month for a cow calf pair. In all probability those shiny tanks were supplied by you the taxpayer. Range fees never pay even a significant part of the cost to allow the cattle on the forest. It is a big subsidy. Ranchers that have no public grazing allotments, get no such benefit. They compete against the ranchers that are subsidized.
When you add the extreme overgrazing that is allowed on Forests like the Malheur, the problem only gets worse.

Edit note: The federal grazing fee for 2018 is $1.41 per animal unit month. An AUM is one cow calf pair.
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Re: One less band of sheep

Postby Lefty » 08 05, 2018 •  [Post 7]

Swede wrote:
Lefty wrote:I have no problem with resonable grazing, mining and timber cutting.


I agree. I made a career out of Forest Service timber management. Done responsibly timber harvest and cattle ranging on the forest is a benefit.
That said, range fees are ridiculously low. I did not look up the fee, but I fee confident it is less than $2.00 per month for a cow calf pair. In all probability those shiny tanks were supplied by you the taxpayer. Range fees never pay even a significant part of the cost to allow the cattle on the forest. It is a big subsidy. Ranchers that have no public grazing allotments, get no such benefit. They compete against the ranchers that are subsidized.
When you add the extreme overgrazing that is allowed on Forests like the Malheur, the problem only gets worse.

Edit note: The federal grazing fee for 2018 is $1.41 per animal unit month. An AUM is one cow calf pair.


I can get all riled up on some of what the Feds do subsidizing just about every business out there,,,, but we dont have time

Some states do have added fees to the AUM. And grazers are getting their act together, association units dont want their neighboring ranch taking what could be theirs. :lol: or more than their share.

I have/had friends that do/did preditor control. Most ranchers aternt willing to blow smoke past those guys, but office people get a lot of lost claims.

One year I came across 31 cows that broke through the ice,.. 4 years ago 36 sheep left stranded up high snowed and froze in, two years ago 4 head forgotten on the wrong side of the fence all were bones and carcasses
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Re: One less band of sheep

Postby Swede » 08 05, 2018 •  [Post 8]

Lefty wrote:Some states do have added fees to the AUM. And grazers are getting their act together


Definitely many grazers have their act together. From what I have observed it varies by Forest, but even in the worst, there are some good managers. I would like to see the proof that "some States are adding fees to the federal grazing permits. That is not something I have seen.
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