Across the West, ranchers use public lands to graze their cattle and sheep, and that rangeland adds up to a space twice the size of California.
A complicated system of permits and subsidies is supposed to keep animals from harming the land or waterways, but a recent investigation from ProPublica found that the system is overtaxed and the Bureau of Land Management can’t keep up with their job of investigating and repairing environmental damage done to the landscape.
Mark Olalde covers the environment, natural resources, and public health around the Southwest for ProPublica, and he’s the author of the series “Free Range: The High Cost of Public Lands Ranching.” Olalde joined Idaho Matters to talk more.
