Forero, Larry C.

Huntsinger, Lynn

Sulak, Adriana

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress The Decline of Transhumance in the West and the Implications for Private Grazing Lands: California Case Studies Lynn Huntsinger University of California, Berkeley Larry C. Forero University of California, Davis Adriana Sulak University of California, Berkeley Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/19-1/20 The XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 瞯 ]986　 瞯 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅱ 　Grasslands/Rangelands People and Policies——— Land Use Change and Grasslands/Rangelands TenureThe decline of transhumance in the west and the implications for private grazing lands :California case studiesL ynn Huntsinger 1 , L arry C . Forero ,2 and A driana Sulak11 Env ironmental Science , Policy , and Management , 137 Mul f ord H all MC 3110 , University o f Cali f ornia , Berkeley , CA94720 USA , huntsinger＠ berkeley .edu ; 2 County Director , Shasta County UC Cooperative Ex tension , 1851 H artnell A ve .Redding , CA 96002‐2217 USA , lc f orero＠ ucdav is .edu .Key words : Forest Service , grazing , ranchers , AUMsIntroduction The interaction of an arid , topographically complex landscape , colonial and imperialistic aspirations , and theframework of land tenure institutions available to enterprising settlers shaped land ownership patterns in the western US . Theresulting improvisation , together with changes in the cost and supply of alternative modes of production and uncontrolled urbansprawl , underlies the decline and loss of traditional transhumance systems of livestock production , particularly cattleproduction , in the latter half of the twentieth century . The Forest Service manages grazing leases on the majority of highelevation rangelands , and allowed grazing has been declining since the １９２０摧s . There is more than nostalgia for what incomparison to Europe and other parts of the world was in the U .S . a short‐lived tradition . A declining ability to use diverserangelands through transhumance is a problem for ranchers , but also for land conservationists and ecosystem managers .Rancher transhumance depends on linking private and public ecosystems in a cycle of production , and this connection is beingbroken . This paper focuses on the relationships with and consequences for private rangelands . Private rangelands are generallyon better soils and have more water , and have been shown to in many cases have higher biodiversity and other values thanpublic rangelands ( Maestas et al . ２００１) .Methods Forest Service grazing was used as a proxy for transhumance grazing . Records were reviewed for the western U .S .Ranchers in two case study areas were surveyed and interviewed ( Sulak ２００７ ; Forero ２００２ ) . Meticulous review of grazingrecords was conducted in the northern study area . Study areas are California摧s west‐central Sierra Nevada foothills and northernSacramento Valley foothills .Results Cattle grazing authorized by the Forest Service in the western regions declined from ７ .１m AUMs in ２０００ to ４ .７mAUMs in ２００５ . Ranchers in case study areas attributed close to half their income to use of Forest Service administrated range .Many work off the ranch and most of them have household members working off the ranch , which can make it more difficult toparticipate in transhumance . Ranchers with Forest Service grazing permits are different from those without such permits in anumber of ways . Their land tenure has been more stable , and they report that they have been affected more by land use ,vegetation , and community change . North Sacramento Valley ranchers who lost their permits generally saw their ranchesbecome smaller . The ranches with permits retained more land , and more livestock , than those who gave up permits . In theSierra , most ranchers had increased their privately‐leased land in the last ５ years . In both study areas ranchers are activeseekers of the available private forage for lease , with nearly all of them leasing some land and in some cases , managing multipleleases in order to support a viable herd . Vegetation change coupled with fire suppression has been another important factor inthe decline in California Forest Service rangeland productivity . Over time in the northern Sacramento Valley , and in many otherareas , the numbers of animals using Forest Service rangelands , and the amount of time they are allowed to spend on publicrangelands , has declined .Conclusions Forest Service grazing permits historically have contributed to tenure stability on associated private lands byproviding a relatively stable source of upland forage at a reasonable cost . However , as there is increased development pressureon the private lands , we are concerned that because of growing insecurity of access to public lands , owners of private lands maybe less likely to enter into long ‐term conservation contracts . Ranches that lose permits may be more likely to sell theirproperties , and without a permit , they may lose viability as an economic unit for livestock production , making them more likelyto be developed for housing . In the southwestern United States , easements that consider the reliance of ranchers on public landhave been created and deserve further study .ReferencesForero , L .C . ２００２ . Grass , graziers and tenure : a case study on the Shasta‐T rinity National Forest . PhD Dissertation , Dept .Environmental Science , Policy , and Management , University of Ca . Berkeley .Maestas , J .D . ; Knight , R .L . ; Gilgert , W .C . ２００１ . Biodiversity across a rural land‐use gradient . Conservation Biology １７ :１４２６‐１４３４ .Sulak , A . ２００７ . Land conservation and environmental policy : public land grazing for private land conservation ? PhDdissertation , Dept . Environmental Science , Policy , and Management , UC Berkeley .Sulak , A . , and Huntsinger , L . ２００２ . Central Sierra grazing in transition . South Lake Tahoe , California : Sierra NevadaAlliance , California Cattlemen摧s Association , and California Rangeland T rust . ( http :/ / www . sierranevadaalliance .org /publications/ ) ３５ pgs .

The Decline of Transhumance in the West and the Implications for Private Grazing Lands: California Case Studies

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The Decline of Transhumance in the West and the Implications for Private Grazing Lands: California Case Studies

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