"Unless long-term public good wins over short-term private gain and ignorance, vast ranges, already greatly depleted, will at no distant date be as barren as the sheep-created deserts of Spain. The free-enterprisers of these ranges, many of them public-owned, want no government interference. They ask only that the government maintain trappers, subsidies on mutton and wool, and tariffs against competitive imports."  - J. Frank Dobie "The Voice of the Coyote" (1949)

Multiple Use Conflict Resolution Act of 2005

This bill provides compensation (buyout) to livestock operators who voluntarily relinquish a grazing permit or lease on Federal lands where conflicts with other multiple uses render livestock grazing impractical, and for other purposes.
6/30/05 Read the Multiple Use Conflict Resolution Act

Why buyouts can be a win-win

Federal buyouts would benefit struggling ranchers and keep the West's open spaces wild, encouraging ecological recovery.

A study by University of Kentucky and BLM economists for the Tucson, Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity in 2002 found that federal grazing programs cost taxpayers and the federal government $128 million to $500 million a year in rangeland management costs and in damage to public land. Grazing fees generate about $6.9 million a year.

The grazing permit buyout idea has been slowly gaining momentum in Congress and among ranchers.
Read about Darryl Sullivan, rancher..