- Major goal of The Heritage Act, developed in collaboration with local ranchers, is to ensure people can continue to make their livelihood from the land.

- Heritage Act explicitly ensures grazing will continue on both custom-tailored Conservation Management Area and new Wilderness additions.

-Noxious weed control envisioned by Heritage Act would help maintain and enhance quality of rangeland.

 Is Grazing allowed in the Conservation Management Area?  

Yes, grazing would continue the same as it does today.  The proposed legislation explicitly states that grazing is a permitted use in the CMA to be managed under applicable laws and regulations. 

Is Grazing allowed in new Wilderness designations?

Yes, grazing has occurred in wilderness areas ever since 1964 when the Wilderness Act was established. Further, the proposal was recently revised to become even more explicit that grazing and the maintenance of grazing facilities will be permitted to continue in the wilderness wherever it is already established. 

So if the Heritage Act doesn’t hurt than how does it benefit grazing?

By providing resources and coordination to better control noxious weeds.  Leafy spurge and spotted knapweed can render many range sites useless for cattle production by displacing valuable forage. Grazing capacities for livestock can be reduced 65 to 90 percent from the original productivity.  That’s not acceptable and we can avoid it on the Rocky Mountain Front.  

What other guarantees exist that allows grazing in Wilderness?

The Wilderness Act states that, "the grazing of livestock where established prior to the established date of this Act (designating an area as wilderness), shall be permitted to continue...” The Act uses “shall” -- rather than “may” -- indicating the strongest Congressional language there is. This is a mandate from Congress. 

How has Congress strengthened this allowance over the years?

In 1980, Congress established the Congressional Grazing Guidelines, and they have been incorporated into almost every wilderness law since that time (some wilderness areas had no grazing). Further, various state wilderness bills passed since that time and numerous court cases over the years have further strengthened grazing within new wilderness as well as the continued use of motorized access and livestock improvements in certain circumstances. In fact, the rancher's grazing operations are better protected in wilderness than in any other land management status; ranchers have more guarantees that grazing shall continue in wilderness than in general National Forest lands and non-wilderness areas.