The Sonoran Desert National Monument

When the Sonoran Desert National Monument was established by President Clinton in 2001, the Proclamation specifically identified the rich biodiversity of the Sand Tank Mountains, and attributed this richness to the long-term absence of livestock grazing. The Proclamation also stated that this management should be extended to the other areas of the Monument "to the fullest extent possible."

The Proclamation also stated that grazing should only continue on certain portions of the Monument if the Bureau of Land Management found it to be compatible with protection of the monument objects, including biological, cultural, and historic resources.

Instead of heeding this advice, the Bureau of Land Management has continued to authorize livestock grazing on nearly half the monument, and has even extended some of the grazing permits until 2015.

These permit renewals were done without a complete NEPA process and without even basic assessments of the ecological health of the allotment.

This was done despite having evidence from two studies to show that livestock were harming monument resources.

We think it was done illegally, and that the agency has delayed long enough.

Livestock Grazing on the Sonoran Desert National Monument

Our public lands and this fragile National Monument are worth more than cheap forage for feedlot operators. Our public lands- and the imperiled species such desert bighorn sheep, Sonoran pronghorn, Sonoran desert tortoise, and many other birds, reptiles, and plants that rely upon these places as habitat - deserve more than denuded moonscapes.

Instead, these resources deserve the entirety of protection that monument status should afford them, and we intend to ensure that they get it.

Contact the Arizona office with any questions.