Preserving our national treasures represents our highest ideals as a society. Many Americans believe that our National Forests and other publicly owned lands are preserved as pristine wild places for the greater well-being of all. They believe the government agencies are devoted stewards of public lands. Americans have made a mistaken assumption.

A Forest Service Employee Speaks Out

"National Forest ecosystems, particularly stream channels and riparian areas, are in dismal condition due to overgrazing and poorly placed roads. Leadership problems are the ultimate cause of watershed deterioration. Millions of taxpayer dollars are beginning to flow to the Southwest to deal with the undeniable overgrazing problem. I fear the money will be diverted to assure that unsustainable grazing continues - at public expense - instead of implementing cost effective, ecologically sound solutions."  - Leon Fager, after a 31-year career with the U.S. Forest Service, 1998

Forest Guardians' Vision

Forest Guardians is committed to challenging misguided grazing legislation and poorly enforced laws and actively working to preserve, protect and restore native wildlands.
Litigation and administrative actions
Buyouts as a legislative solution

The Road to Reform

The road to rangeland reform: a history, review, and prospectus by Peter B. McIntyre

Despite the best attempts to suppress it, much sentiment lies beneath the surface of Congressional language, sentiment that is only available to the perceptive reader who becomes intimate with the bills themselves. Closely reading both the written and orally presented testimony from ranchers, environmentalists, and politicians accentuates the "people issues" which must be considered when we seek to change a system so heavily ingrained in the public mindset and entwined in the regional economy. Read more..