STATE OF COLORADO )

)ss.
COUNTY OF GARFIELD )

At a regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners for Garfield County, Colorado, held at the County
Administration Building in Glenwood Springs on Monday, the ___ of ____, 2018, there were present:

Tom Jankovsky , Commissioner

Mike Samson , Commissioner
John Martin , Commissioner Chairman
Kevin Batchelder , County Manager
Tari Williams , County Attorney
Jean Alberico , Clerk to the Board

when the following proceedings, among others were had and done, to-wit:

RESOLUTION NO. 18-____

A RESOLUTION OF GARFIELD COUNTY TO IDENTIFY LIVESTOCK GRAZING ON

BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC (BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (BLM) OR UNITED
STATES FOREST SERVICE (USFS)) LANDS AS A CRITICAL ECONOMIC AND
HISTORIC NECESSARY LIFESTYLE PROTECTED AND SUPPORTED UNDER THE
COUNTY PLAN.

Recitals

A. WHEREAS, Garfield County, Colorado (the County) desires to preserve its ranching and
livestock land base to provide sound resource and agricultural management that produces food
and material stuffs essential to the County, Colorado and to the greatness and wellbeing of the
United States; and

B. WHEREAS, the County considers it is in the public interest to encourage the maintenance
of a healthy, diverse and vibrant agricultural economy in the County and state to ensure
adequate healthful and nutritious food and other animal products for the current residents of
the County, state and country and for generations to come yet unborn; and

C. WHEREAS, the County has determined that establishing a Right to Farm and Ranch
Policy pursuant to Colorado's Right to Farm law (C.R.S. 35-3.5-101, 102) is desirable; it
is the declared policy of the State of Colorado to conserve, protect, and encourage the
development and improvement of its agricultural land for the production of food and
other agricultural products; and

D. WHEREAS, protecting agricultural and ranch operators from complaints about legal,
technically and resource sound and non-negligent agricultural operations and activity
by individuals, environmental groups and federal agencies is desirable; and

E. WHEREAS, educating the public and non-agricultural residents about the existence,
validity, and importance of the County's agricultural operations and activities is
desirable; and

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F. WHEREAS, the County recognizes that young people entering the field of ranching and
agriculture are declining in number throughout the County, Colorado and the country as a
whole and that this is a serious concern and issue to the continuation of agricultural
business in America; and

G. WHEREAS, the County recognizes that young people entering the field of ranching and
agriculture face serious and often insurmountable odds from the assault from some within and
outside the state and some within federal and in the private sector who may have anti grazing
and anti-agriculture agendas that have the express primary goal of limiting and/or removing
livestock grazing from private and public lands by making it too expensive or controversial to
continue; and

H. WHEREAS, the County recognizes the Rafter Y Ranch as good stewards on both the
private and BLM administered public lands of the 27 pasture and 105,473 acre West Salt
Common grazing allotment that falls within Mesa (approx. 40 percent), Garfield (approx.
59 percent) and Rio Blanco (less than 1 percent) Counties; and

I. WHEREAS, the County recognizes the concrete data and analysis corroborating that the
Rafter Y Ranch grazing operations and their predecessors since 1993 to 1998 through 2018
on the West Salt Common grazing allotment have significantly and measurably improved
and continue to improve the riparian conditions and habitats by improving ground water
resources and habitats for wildlife on both their private and BLM administered lands through
self-initiated responsible and responsive grazing practices; and

J. WHEREAS, the County recognizes that the current grazing active permitted use of 9,934
animal unit months (AUMs) on the BLM administered lands that are intermixed with 12
percent private lands is well within the carrying capacity of the West Salt Common allotment
and should not be altered, changed or reduced; and

K. WHEREAS, the County recognizes the research and concrete findings that in most
instances, dormant growing season grazing has little to no measurable adverse effect on
herbaceous plant species or soil surface stability especially when the native and other
plants receive 100 percent rest during every growing season every year; and

L. WHEREAS, the County recognizes the research and tangible findings that cheatgrass
(Bromus tectorum) is an introduced species from the Mediterranean region; and

M. WHEREAS, the County recognizes the research and tangible findings that cheatgrass can,
does and will spread due to its tenacious characteristics to areas with or without livestock
influence; and

N. WHEREAS, the County recognizes the research and tangible findings that cheatgrass is a
fire adapted species (cheatgrass achieves total dominance over native species, which are
often not fire tolerant, if it is allowed to express its recurrent destructive fire cycles) and by
being doing so, cheatgrass can and does create fire threats to property and human safety;
and
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O. WHEREAS, the County recognizes that cheatgrass dominated areas, or stead-state non-
native communities, located in many areas within Garfield and neighboring Mesa County,
are a product of earlier or historic fires that conferred dominant status to cheatgrass; and

P. WHEREAS, the County recognizes the volumes of research and tangible findings that
targeted livestock grazing in the winter or dormant growing season on cheatgrass dominated
communities that are nested in a mosaic of native species with cheatgrass to cheatgrass
steady state communities can help manage the fire fuel loads of cheatgrass acting as a
potential fire deterrent and slow or even potentially stop the domination and cheatgrass take
over; and

Q. WHEREAS, the County understands that while targeted grazing is not an absolute remedy
or fool-proof solution for the potential of future cheatgrass fires, that with no action, such
as using livestock for targeted grazing, the research and findings show that fire is a
foregone conclusion... not if but only when; and
R. WHEREAS, the County recognizes that the 17,552 acres of the Rabbit Valley pastures in the
lower southern end of the 35 mile long West Salt Common allotment (approx. 17 percent of
the allotment) fall within Mesa County and the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area
(MCNCA) and Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness managed by the BLM Grand Junction Field
Office; and

S. WHEREAS, the County recognizes that the Rafter Y Ranch and their predecessors have
through their own allotment management plan (AMP) for the 27 pasture allotment been
practicing targeted cheatgrass dormant season grazing for over 20 years and this has
contributed to the increasing presence of native perennial herbaceous species (grasses and
forbs) in the Rabbit Valley pastures and the absence of catastrophic fire in the MCNCA for
over 20 years; and

T. WHEREAS, the County recognizes and has discussed the absence of fire with Mesa County
and finds, along with Mesa County, that the public’s safety and the safety of property that
have resulted are to be commended and should be continued to be managed for; and

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 NOW, THEREFORE, IS IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Garfield
County, Colorado, that:

1. It is the policy of Garfield County to preserve, protect and encourage the development
and improvement of agricultural activities and practices for food production and other
agricultural products.

2. It is the policy of Garfield County to encourage, assist and promote young ranching
families within Garfield County to insure the continuation of food production and other
agricultural products for the County, Colorado and America for generations to come.

3. It is the policy of Garfield County to investigate or review actions of the BLM and, where
it finds on behalf of the rancher, that the BLM actions are not supported or necessary,
advise the BLM that they may be overreaching and impacting the ranchers livelihood and
the overall County economy and stability in an adverse manner.

4. It is the findings of Garfield County that any change to the active permitted use on the
West Salt Common Allotment is improper and unnecessarily impacts the permittee in
an adverse economic and operational manner. This permittee is currently a good public
and private land steward.

5. It is the findings of Garfield County that any uncoordinated and uncooperative change to
the fire fuel load management being practiced by the Rafter Y Ranch during dormant
season grazing would potentially create a clear and present fire danger to the recreational
and other publics and property, as well as, adversely impacting the vegetation and soils
resources. Thus, any such action or change may be considered an irresponsible act by
those initiating it.

6. It is the findings of Garfield County that the County has a vested and tangible economic,
social and elected representative interest in any adverse action taken by the BLM on the
West Salt Common allotment or any other grazing allotment and any future results or
effects, thereof. As such, the County may, and reserves the right to, intervene in an
adverse legal action on behalf of the permittee, Rafter Y Ranch or any other targeted
grazing permittee action taken by BLM or other parties.

7. Should any provision, section, paragraph or subparagraph of this resolution and policy,
be declared null and void, illegal, unconstitutional, or otherwise determined to be
unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, it will not affect the validity, legality,
or enforceability of any other portion of the text.

8. The Board will review this Resolution within one year to determine whether to continue
the resolution as written, change it or repeal it. If it is not repealed, it will be reviewed
within five years from the date this resolution is adopted.

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ADOPTED this day of , 2018.

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF

ATTEST: GARFIELD COUNTY, STATE OF COLORADO

________________________ By: __________________________________

Clerk to the Board Chairperson

Upon motion duly made and seconded the foregoing Resolution was adopted by the following vote:

Tom Jankovsky
Mike Samson
John Martin
Commissioners

STATE OF COLORADO )
) ss.
COUNTY OF GARFIELD )

I, Jean Alberico, County Clerk and ex-officio Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners in and for the County
and State aforesaid do hereby certify that the annexed and foregoing Resolution is truly copied from the Records of the
Proceedings of the Board of County Commissioners for said Garfield County, now in my office.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said County, at Glenwood
Springs, this ___ day of ____________, A.D. 2018.

County Clerk and ex-officio Clerk of

the Board of County Commissioners

____________________________________