Judge says cattle may continue to graze on public pastures in Eastern Oregon

(APRIL 1, 2022) Eastern Oregon has pastures. That's where animals can graze, or eat the natural grasses and plants. Ranches and farms use this land to feed their animals, such as cattle. Some of these pastures are on public lands that are managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Recently, three nonprofit organizations wanted to change that. The Oregon Natural Desert Association, the Audubon Society of Portland, and Defenders of Wildlife worked together. They asked a federal judge to issue an order that would stop ranchers from letting their cattle graze on 13 Oregon pastures.

Why? The group says it wants to protect the land. Grazing, they say, harms both sage grouse (a bird) and rangeland research.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon did not agree. He said their idea was not proved. He doesn't believe that grazing will "irreparably harm" (hurt without the ability to be fixed). He says the pastures are often used for grazing, and they are usually let to rest on a rotating basis. Ranch families, on the other hand, depend upon the ability to use the public lands for their operations.

A lawyer for the nonprofit organizations says the ranchers can take their cattle to other places. The grazing must stop in order for the environmental research to begin. “Economic harm never outweighs irreparable environmental harm,” he says.

A lawyer for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) says the nonprofit organizations are just being impatient. The BLM says it must follow a government process before it can stop grazing on the 13 pastures, including a study of how fences affect the environment.

In Oregon and Washington, the BLM administers approximately 14 million acres of rangelands.

The conflict seems to continue, but, for now, the judge said grazing can continue, too.