Sierra Nevada grazing in transition: The role of forest service grazing in the foothill ranches of California

This report summarizes a study that examines the relationship between publicly owned forest service managed summer grazing land and privately-owned foothill ranches that explore the economic and social sustainability of ranching in the Central Sierra Nevada. Interviews were conducted with twenty-three ranchers in California’s Central Sierra Nevada foothills indicating that each used tahoe, stanislaus, or el dorado national forest lands for summer grazing. The goal was to better understand the motivations for ranching, the viability of  current operations, and how the ranchers might respond if forest service lands in the Sierra became unavailable. For comparison, fourteen ranchers with similar herd sizes, but who do not use forest service grazing land were interviewed.