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Ranchers urge county to include grazing, flood work in master plan; present Spanish Fork River RMP
Summary
Grazing association representatives told the commission grazing provides fire mitigation, economic value and stewardship across hundreds of thousands of acres; presenters requested the county include grazing in its master plan and offered a coordinated Spanish Fork River plan with estimated needs of more than $2 million and initial NRCS funding.
Representatives of multiple grazing associations and the USDA Farm Service Agency told the Utah County Commission the county master plan should formally recognize grazing on public and private lands and pledged to participate in planning and conservation work.
Rex Larson introduced association representatives who detailed grazing operations across broad county landscapes, economic contributions, and a role in fire mitigation at Camp Williams and other areas. Jim Smith and other association members described how grazing supports families, reduces wildfire risk and manages vegetation. Sterling Race of the USDA Farm Service Agency provided drought-assistance and program statistics the county may use in planning.
Presenters asked that grazing be explicitly included in the county’s resource-management planning. Several speakers requested county assistance with the Lower Spanish Fork River coordinated resource management plan (RMP), a multi-stakeholder effort completed in 2015 that identifies stream-bank restoration, noxious-weed control, fencing and other measures over an 11-mile reach. The presenters estimated the total cost of improvements at more than $2 million and said an initial NRCS funding allocation of roughly $300,000 is available to begin work.
Commissioners thanked speakers and encouraged engagement in the RMP and upcoming planning-commission meetings. The county will coordinate staff contacts (Bryce Armstrong and Richard Nielsen were cited as staff resource names) to support grazing interests during the master-plan and RMP processes.
Speakers emphasized that proper grazing can be compatible with environmental stewardship, and attendees asked the commission to help in negotiations with federal agencies and to include grazing explicitly in planning materials so producers can better manage land and water resources.
