Grazing on Public Lands: Overview.

Livestock ranching is a key part of the economy and culture of the western United States. Though initially established with little government oversight, the industry became subject to an increased level of federal regulation in 1934, when the US government passed the Taylor Grazing Act. Prompted in part by concerns about the environmental and economic ramifications of overgrazing, the act regulated the grazing of livestock on public lands owned by the federal government, a common practice in the western states. The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began managing those lands, issuing grazing permits, and enforcing grazing-related regulations upon its establishment in 1946, and remained responsible for these duties into the early twenty-first century. Throughout that era, ranchers periodically came into conflict with the BLM and the federal government over grazing policies, which, for some in the livestock industry, became closely associated with broader issues of regulation and government interference.