Taylor Grazing Act of 1934

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Template:Use American English Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 (TGA, Pub. L. Template:Trim/Template:Trim Template:TrimTemplate:Trim) is a United States federal law that provides for the regulation of grazing on the public lands (excluding Alaska) to improve rangeland conditions and regulate their use.[1]

The law initially permitted Script error: No such module "convert". of previously unreserved public lands of the United States to be placed into grazing districts to be administered by the Department of the Interior. As amended, the law now sets no limit on the amount of lands in grazing districts. Currently, there are approximately Script error: No such module "convert". inside grazing allotments.

These can be vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved land from public lands, all except for Alaska, national forests, parks, monuments, Indian reservations, railroad grant lands, and revested Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands. Surrounding landowners may be granted right of passage over these districts. Permits are given for grazing privileges in the districts. Also permits can be given to build fences, reservoirs, and other improvements.

The permittees are required to pay a fee, and the permit cannot exceed ten years but is renewable. Permits can be revoked because of severe drought or other natural disasters that deplete grazing lands.

History

During the administration of President Herbert Hoover, it became clear that federal regulation of public land use was needed to address the root causes of the Dust Bowl.[2] Since vast portions were used for livestock grazing, the importance of range management loomed large.

The advocacy of John Francis Deeds, chief of the Agricultural Division of the Geological Survey and deputy director of the Department's Grazing Division, was influential in bringing about the benefits of the Taylor Grazing Act.

Congressman Don B. Colton of Utah introduced a bill to create grazing districts, but the bill failed to pass the US Senate.[3] In 1933, Edward T. Taylor, a representative from Colorado, reintroduced the Colton bill as the Taylor bill. This bill set up the grazing bureau, or service in the Department of Interior, to administer the range lands.[4] The Grazing Service was merged with the United States General Land Office in 1946 to form the Bureau of Land Management.

Case studies by Phillip O. Foss on the role of local grazing advisory committees established by the Taylor Grazing Act in regulating the grazing of livestock on federal public lands found that such committees were often dominated by the same ranchers and cattlemen whose activities were supposed to be regulated,[5][6][7] indicating that grazing regulation had been "captured" by the regulated interests.

A 2022 study found the law, which demarcated property rights, led to greater land productivity in large grazing districts in the Western US.[8]

Amendments to 1934 Act

U.S. Congressional amendments to the Grazing Act of 1934.

Date of Enactment Public Law Number U.S. Statute Citation U.S. Legislative Bill U.S. Presidential Administration
June 26, 1936 P.L. 74-827 49 Stat. 1976 H.R. Template:Replace Franklin D. Roosevelt
May 28, 1954 P.L. 83-375 68 Stat. 151 H.R. Template:Replace Dwight D. Eisenhower

See also

References

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  1. http://www.publiclandscouncil.org/CMDocs/PublicLandsCouncil/Taylor%20Grazing%20Act%20-%201934.pdfScript error: No such module "Unsubst". | 43 U.S. Code §§ 315-316o
  2. "The Dust Bowl" (2016, February 18) Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/depwwii/dustbowl/
  3. Peffer, E. Louise. The Closing of the Public Domain: Disposal and Reservation Policies, 1900-50 Stanford University Press, 1951, pp. 203-15.
  4. Steen, Harold K. The United States Forest Service A History University of Washington Press, 1976, p. 205 Template:ISBN
  5. Foss, Phillip O. The Grazing Fee Dilemma. University, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1960.
  6. Foss, Phillip O. Politics and Grass. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1960.
  7. Foss, Phillip O. The Battle of Soldier Creek. University, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1961.
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Further reading

  • Foss, Phillip O. Politics and Grass (U of Washington Press, 1960).
  • Hurlburt, Virgil. "The Taylor grazing act." Journal of Land and Public Utility Economics 2#2 (1935): 203-206. online at HeinOnline.
  • Lowitt, Richard. The New Deal and the West (1984) pp 64–72. online
  • Musgrave, Ruth S. et al. (1998) Taylor Grazing Act, Chapter 4: Statute Summaries, Federal Wildlife and Related Laws Handbook, Rockville, Md.: Government Institutes, Template:ISBN
  • Ross, Joseph VH. "Managing the public range-lands: 50 years since the Taylor Grazing Act." Rangelands Archives 6.4 (1984): 147-151. online
  • Stout Jr, Joe A. "Cattlemen, Conservationists and the Taylor Grazing Act." New Mexico Historical Review 45.4 (1970): 3+ online.
  • Welsh, Michael M. "Beyond Designed Capture: A Reanalysis of the Beginnings of Public Range Management, 1928–38." Social Science History 26.2 (2002): 347-391.

External links