Image courtesy of Bureau of Land Management, Flickr
On Monday, the Public Lands Council and the Bureau of Land Management signed a memorandum of understanding to promote cooperative monitoring of grazing allotments on BLM lands. The MOU will help public lands ranchers and local BLM officials cooperate to collect and analyze data on rangeland health to ensure higher quality management of federal rangeland.
“Federal lands ranchers manage millions of acres of federal land through livestock grazing as well as voluntary conservation work, ranchers strive to improve range conditions every day. To help boost these management efforts, data is needed to help ranchers make decisions on the landscape and this MOU will allow BLM and grazing permittees to better share the information that is key to those management efforts,” said PLC Tim Canterbury. “The Public Lands Council is thrilled to join BLM in this cooperative monitoring agreement that will strengthen partnerships between agency officials and producers. We look forward to continuing our work with BLM and utilizing this MOU to improve and protect America’s treasured natural resources.”
“Public lands ranchers are essential partners in sustaining healthy rangelands,” said Acting BLM Director Bill Groffy. “Their on-the-ground knowledge and stewardship play a critical role in managing and protecting these resources for future generations. This MOU strengthens our ability to work side by side with permittees and other partners, ensuring that decisions are informed by sound data and collaborative monitoring. Together, we can achieve resilient landscapes that support productive grazing, healthy wildlife habitat and clean water.”
The MOU provides a clear path for more efficient data collection and information sharing between grazing permittees and BLM. PLC signed a similar MOU with the Forest Service in 2022, and these monitoring activities have proven to be integral factors in the decisions grazing permittees make to keep rangelands healthy and resilient through grazing activities. The data collected by permittees through approved and agreed upon methods will provide the agency with a larger set of reference points when evaluating rangeland health and resource management and clear records of the positive results from producers’ investments in resilient rangelands, healthy wildlife habitat, and robust watersheds.
The MOU is in effect from 2026 until January 2031.
