The Upper Green River headwaters are in the Wind River Range. Photo by George Wuerthner
The 170,000-acre Upper Green River Allotment, located on the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, is the largest grazing allotment under Forest Service administration. It is also one of the best wildlife habitats in the West, and it is easily comparable to the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park.
It is also the epicenter of grizzly and livestock conflicts, with the grizzlies often emerging as the losers. Problem livestock are harming native predators.
This would be called vandalism of public resources under any other circumstances. It is indeed ironic that if someone were to spray-paint an FS sign, they could be arrested for destruction of public property. However, someone’s privately-owned cattle can damage numerous public resources with no consequences at all.
The Wind River Range from Green River. Photo by George Wuerthner
Killing grizzly bears (or wolves) on public lands to protect private businesses that are utilizing the public domain is nothing short of legalized vandalism. For instance, in 2024, four grizzlies were killed on this single allotment after bears killed 91 cattle.
The decision by the BTNF to allow livestock grazing here was contested. I wrote extensive comments listing numerous domestic livestock conflicts with public resources.
According to the Forest Service’s own analysis, the range condition of most of the allotment is between poor and fair. Don’t let the word “fair” fool you: fair is technically 26-50% of its potential, so most of the allotment has lost at least half of its original vegetative potential. In range parlance, this means that much of the Upper Green allotment is “cow burnt”.
The Upper Green River. Photo by George Wuerthner
However, even more important is that the mere presence of livestock increases the chances that predators, whether grizzlies or wolves, kill cattle, thus creating a conflict that could be avoided if the allotment were closed to livestock grazing.
A lawsuit was filed contesting the Fish and Wildlife’s decision to allow 72 grizzlies to be killed on the allotment over the next ten years. In late May 2023, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal government had violated the ESA by not capping female grizzly deaths and permitting activities that could contribute to a grizzly “mortality sink” and suppress the population.
But the court “win” didn’t stop the killing of bears; the judges just said that killing 72 would be too many.
By October 2024, 65 grizzlies had died from all causes in Wyoming.
The Upper Green is home to wolves. Photo by George Wuerthner
However, grizzlies and wolves are not the only animals impacted by privately-owned livestock damaging public resources.
Grazing consumes forage that native elk and pronghorn require. Grazing damages streams, harming the Colorado River Cutthroat Trout. Grazing impacts sage grouse. It hurts amphibians. It damages riparian areas.
Grass that is grazed by cattle is not available for native wildlife, such as elk, grizzlies, butterflies, and grasshoppers, which in turn impacts other wildlife that may feed on or depend on them, including pollinators.
In addition, the mere presence of domestic animals socially displaces some wildlife, such as elk. If elk are grazing in an area, you must assume it’s the best habitat for them. So, if they are displaced, they are being pushed into a secondary habitat that may have less nutritious forage or be more vulnerable to predators.
The continued grazing of the Upper Green River allotment is in direct conflict with the BTNF’s prescribed management for the area. The BTNF Forest Plan has categorized 93% of the area as DFC 10 and 12 status, where protecting wildlife values is the primary goal. Yet the Forest Service manages it as more or less a feedlot for a few local ranchers.
Of the confirmed conflicts between grizzlies and humans, some 188 of 242 — a whopping 78% — were due to livestock.
Some of these grizzly-livestock interactions occurred on private lands, but half of Wyoming’s grizzly depredations in 2024 took place in the Upper Green River area.
The continued impact on wildlife to sustain private profits at public expense is inexcusable. The grazing on the allotment is even economically insignificant to the local economy. If the allotment were closed to grazing, ranchers would be forced to find other sources of forage, but that wouldn’t necessarily mean they would go out of business.
Even if all the ranchers using the allotment— a small subset of all ranching operations in the country —ended their livestock operations, it would barely be noticed. Farm income in Sublette County from all sources accounts for only 1.2% of personal income. Keep in mind there are over 400 farms or ranches in the county, and less than a dozen ranchers graze the Upper Green Allotment. Thus, the percentage of income resulting from grazing the Upper Green River Allotment would be a fraction of even the 1.2% of revenue derived from Ag in the county.
Pronghorn in the Upper Green River Valley. Photo by George Wuerthner
When one weighs the extremely high wildlife values of the Upper Green River area against the minor economic value of public lands grazing, it makes no logical sense. Yet the BTNF, like many public agencies, is captured by financial interests, allowing these interests to dictate public policy.
There are many places across the country where beef cattle can be raised, but there are few places that can sustain populations of grizzlies, wolves, elk, pronghorn, moose, deer, sage grouse, Colorado Cutthroat Trout, and numerous other species.
The Upper Green River Valley is a haven for wildlife. It should be treated as such, not just a feedlot for privately-owned domestic livestock. Photo by George Wuerthner
The public must demand that this ongoing vandalism of public lands be terminated. Close the Upper Green Allotment and manage it for wildlife as the BTNF forest plan dictates.
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