Commission chair says 18,000 grazing AUMs reinstated on BLM land, warns litigation likely

Garfield County’s presiding commissioner told the board the federal government has begun reactivating vacant grazing allotments, returning about 18,000 animal-unit months to local use.

“What it means,” the Chair (S3) said, “we have 18,000 AUMs back right now, BLM lands out of the Vernal office.” He added the reinstatements affect Book Cliffs allotments that had been vacant for years and noted the change “is gonna get litigated.”

Why it matters: AUMs (animal-unit months) determine grazing capacity on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) allotments and are central to ranch operations. County officials told the commission the reactivated allotments will make forage available to local ranchers and could support related local economic activity such as sawmills and allied services.

The Chair said the allotments are winter and summer allocations on several allotments managed from the Vernal and local field offices; he urged ranchers to contact the Vernal BLM field office for details and warned the reinstatement will not be instantaneous on the ground, calling it “a long ways to go.”

County staff and commissioners framed the change as a restoration of use long constrained by administrative pauses. The Chair referenced the Taylor Grazing Act (as discussed in the meeting) when describing legal constraints on how long an allotment may remain rested, asserting that allotments rested beyond the statutory window should be returned to use.

Next steps: Commissioners said the reinstatement will require follow-up with BLM offices to claim or apply for use of specific allotments and that county staff will monitor legal developments if litigation follows. No formal county action was taken during the meeting; the announcement was presented as an informational update.