Cows or Condos: Rancher and Land-Use Outcomes Following Compensated Federal Grazing Permit Waivers

IF 2.4 3区 环境科学与生态学 Q2 ECOLOGY
Tessa M. Wittman, Drew E. Bennett
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Abstract

Considering the nexus between public grazing lands and privately owned rangelands in the American West, some scholars argue that reduced access to public grazing allotments can result in subdivision or land conversion of private lands affiliated with livestock production—an argument presented as a choice between “cows or condos.” This argument has been applied to compensated permit waivers, a tool meant to reduce wildlife-livestock and other conflicts on public lands. We tested this “cows or condos” hypothesis by conducting semistructured interviews and a survey of permittees who have participated in a permit waiver, and through a property and records analysis of privately owned properties affiliated with 49 permittees who have accepted compensation to waive a federal grazing permit in the West since 1999. While we found no evidence of subdivision on private properties, common themes and mixed experiences arose from the producers we communicated with. Nearly every producer was experiencing untenable conflict on their grazing lease, most producers would have preferred to remain on their allotment if conflicts were reduced but were grateful they received compensation for waiving their permit, and many producers expressed concerns about the impacts of ongoing fragmentation of rangelands across the American West. The permit waiver presented difficulties for some producers, but for others the permit waiver was a catalyst for expanding their operation. Conflict with wildlife, agency restrictions, and exorbitant land values were cited by most producers as factors compromising their operation. We found no evidence to support the claim that compensated permit waivers are driving subdivision in the West; rather, many ranchers indicated the rapid development and fragmentation of Western landscapes is a major factor reducing the viability of livestock production.

奶牛或公寓:联邦放牧许可补偿豁免后的牧场主和土地使用结果
考虑到美国西部公共牧场与私有牧场之间的关系,一些学者认为,减少公共牧场的使用可能会导致与畜牧业生产相关的私有土地的细分或土地转换--这一论点被表述为 "奶牛或公寓 "之间的选择。这一论点已被应用于补偿性许可证豁免,这是一种旨在减少公共土地上野生动物与牲畜及其他冲突的工具。我们通过对参加过许可证豁免的许可证持有者进行半结构式访谈和调查,并通过对自 1999 年以来在西部接受补偿以放弃联邦放牧许可证的 49 名许可证持有者的私有财产和记录进行分析,对 "奶牛或公寓 "这一假设进行了验证。虽然我们没有发现私有财产被细分的证据,但与我们交流过的生产者提出了共同的主题和喜忧参半的经历。几乎所有的生产者都在其牧场租约上经历了难以维持的冲突,如果冲突减少,大多数生产者更愿意留在其分配的土地上,但他们对因放弃许可而获得补偿表示感激,许多生产者对美国西部牧场持续破碎化的影响表示担忧。许可证豁免给一些生产者带来了困难,但对另一些生产者来说,许可证豁免则是扩大经营的催化剂。大多数生产者认为,与野生动物的冲突、机构限制和高昂的土地价值是影响其经营的因素。我们没有发现任何证据支持有偿许可证豁免正在推动西部地区细分的说法;相反,许多牧场主表示,西部地貌的快速发展和破碎化是降低畜牧业生产可行性的一个主要因素。
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来源期刊
Rangeland Ecology & Management
Rangeland Ecology & Management 农林科学-环境科学
CiteScore
4.60
自引率
13.00%
发文量
87
审稿时长
12-24 weeks
期刊介绍: Rangeland Ecology & Management publishes all topics-including ecology, management, socioeconomic and policy-pertaining to global rangelands. The journal''s mission is to inform academics, ecosystem managers and policy makers of science-based information to promote sound rangeland stewardship. Author submissions are published in five manuscript categories: original research papers, high-profile forum topics, concept syntheses, as well as research and technical notes. Rangelands represent approximately 50% of the Earth''s land area and provision multiple ecosystem services for large human populations. This expansive and diverse land area functions as coupled human-ecological systems. Knowledge of both social and biophysical system components and their interactions represent the foundation for informed rangeland stewardship. Rangeland Ecology & Management uniquely integrates information from multiple system components to address current and pending challenges confronting global rangelands.
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