When it comes to regulating livestock grazing, agricultural counties have two options.
The first is a fence-out policy, meaning if a property owner doesn’t want cattle wandering in, it’s their responsibility to build a fence.
The other option is a fence-in policy, as Wasatch County Manager Dustin Grabau explained.
“As communities shift towards more suburban styles, you tend to shift towards fence-in laws, which says: if you own cows, it’s your responsibility to fence them into your property, and you are responsible if they get out of your property,” he said at a county council meeting May 6.
Wasatch County takes the fence-in approach, but a fence-out policy is now on the table in areas where private property abuts public land.
Under the proposal, private landowners would have the responsibility of fencing to keep wandering cattle out. The change would still allow for grazing on government land but shifts any liability away from ranchers who hold those permits.
Councilmember Spencer Park said it’s good for weed management and fire mitigation to allow grazing on public lands.
“We have 68%, 67% public land in this county, which is awesome,” he said. “But we still need to figure out how to graze it, manage it, keep the weeds, keep the fire down.”
The council is also discussing a small technical change to clarify that veterinarians aren’t required to be present when farmers are branding livestock.
“I’m branding and stuff all day Saturday in a different county,” Park said. “I didn’t know that I could be a criminal by doing it in our county.”
The proposed livestock fencing amendments must go through a second public reading before they’re finalized.
