The politics of Disaster

Rep. Simpson Seeks Special Grazing For Fire-Riddled Idaho

By Brodie Farquhar, 10-22-07

Congressman Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, is the leader of a bi-partisan group of 40 House members seeking extra wildfire and drought disaster help from the House Appropriations Committee. But Simpson has also made some dramatic suggestions about grazing policies for public lands that run counter to modern grazing and wildfire science.

He’s joined in a straightforward disaster assistance effort by 39 congressmen and women from neighboring states, such as Barbara Cubin, R-Wyoming, Dennis Rehberg, R-Montana, Stephanie Sandlin, D-South Dakota and John Salazar, D-Colorado. The coalition asked for extensions on livestock and crop disaster aid programs, to accommodate growers who’ve been hammered by this summer’s drought and wildfires.

Yet Simpson has gone much further, asking the Committee in a September letter to consider provisions that would allow ranchers (PDF) to better utilize grazing lands unaffected by fires and a provision that would ensure cattle were allowed back on some fire-impacted lands as early as next year, rather than giving the range a two-year rest. In addition, Simpson alerted the Committee to his desire to explore the possibility of promoting a pilot program on some fire-impacted Idaho lands that would permit the use of grazing as a fuels reduction management tool in the rehabilitation toolbox.

Simpson also recommended the use of non-native grass species on wildfire rehab projects, to aid livestock grazers.

“I firmly believe the federal government should consider a pilot project on certain federal lands impacted by this year’s wildfires,” wrote Simpson. “In Idaho, there are considerable lands that would be perfect candidates for a pilot program whose primary function is to investigate the value of grazing as a management tool for fuels reduction on federally-owned lands…

“There is simply no doubt in my mind that the buildup of fuels on both forest land and range land contributed to the devastating nature of some of these fires. Therefore, I believe we need to quickly move to ensure grazing and forest health management practices are utilized effectively by public land managers to minimize the occurrence of catastrophic fires in the future,” he wrote.

Simpson has several key allies in this venture to change grazing practices in the name of fuels reduction on federally-owned lands.

One is Idaho Governor “Butch” Otter, who has created a statewide wildfire rehabilitation committee. The other is Idaho Bureau of Land Management Director Dyer, who also has a working group to evaluate the interplay between livestock grazing, fuel and fire effects. Both committees are looking at cattle grazing as a way to reduce fuel loads.

What’s at the root of all this activity, speculates Jon Marvel, executive director of the Western Watersheds conservation group, is an intense wildfire season for Idaho – over two million acres burned, including the giant, 600,000-acre Murphy Complex fire on BLM lands.

According to Marvel, the top grazing permitees who were impacted by the Murphy Complex fires are ag-giant Simplot and the Brackett brothers – Bert Brackett, of Rogerson, is a Republican representative for District 23, House Seat B, which includes all of Owyhee County and parts of Twin Falls County.

On the op/ed pages of the Idaho Statesman, Brackett and Marvel battled over whether grazing could lower the wildfire fuel load, with Brackett blaming Marvel for some of the season’s fires and Marvel insisting that “There is no scientific evidence that cattle or sheep grazing prevents fires at any time.”

Bobby McEnaney, a grazing specialist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Simpson and his allies have simply borrowed a page from the timber industry, which maintains that logging is a tool for reducing fuel loads in national forests.

“This is a real step backwards, catering to the good ol’ boys,” said McEnaney.

McEnaney doubts Rep. Simpson will get far with his grazing proposals on the Hill, which is much more focused on finding creative solutions to the nation’s energy crisis.

Writer George Wuerthner thinks Simpson’s proposals to change grazing policies are bad ideas. Wuerthner is editor of “Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy,” published this summer by Island Press. (Full disclosure: He also writes an occasional guest column in NewWest.Net.)

Wuerthner said allowing livestock on burnt ranges in the spring, would be disastrous for native grasses. After a fire, plants regrow lost material, he said. Cool season plants pack away their energy reserves in the spring and fall. “Spring grazing hurts their ability to recover from wildfire,” Wuerthner said.

As for using grazing to reduce fuel loads, Wuerthner said that works only if you graze plants right down to the nub, which destroys any forage value for wildlife. “In years with extreme drought and high winds, unless you eliminate all fuels, wildfire will jump all barriers, including roads,” he said. “I don’t doubt that severe grazing reduces fuels, but why do it?”

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.