Motivational Interviewing - This presentation was given at Y2U's 2018 Successful Activism Training by Dr. David Christian, a clinical psychologist from Logan, Utah. Dr. Christian spends much of his time consulting environmental groups and other advocacy-based organizations on Motivational Interviewing, a technique for building positive relationships between people who don't always see eye to eye. Please email  for the PowerPoint slides.

2018 Environmental Legislative Priorities - This presentation was given at Y2U's 2018 Successful Activism Training by Nathan Gilbert, a volunteer with the Sierra Club. It covers environmental legislative priorities for the 2018 Utah State Legislative Session.

Lobbying Skills - This presentation was given at Y2U's 2018 Successful Activism Training by Colin Green, a recent University of Utah graduate who has extensive lobbying experience. The presentation covers several important topics including how a bill becomes a law, strategies for setting up and attending meetings with your representative, etc.

Livestock Impacts - provides a photo narrative of the effects of livestock grazing on our forests, streams with contrasting photos of lands recovering from livestock grazing to show their potential.

Sediment Cores – provides a synopsis of the research Dr. Carter and partners have been conducting to document the current status of spawning habitats for cutthroat and Bull trout in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. Watershed erosion from livestock grazing and off-road vehicles using our public lands often degrades these habitats and increases mortality to fish eggs and larvae.

Watershed Analysis – provides an overview of our research and the inability of the Forest Service to take into account critical factors when setting livestock stocking rates and locating water developments for livestock. You will see that as a result, this forces livestock to graze and trample lands that are highly erodible. This, in turn, results in erosion rates many times natural rates then leading to loss in water storage capacity, increased flood forces and stream erosion, and sedimentation of trout streams.

Aspen Management – describes the importance of aspen communities and threats by agency management that lead to aspen decline and loss of understory plant communities.   It describes the role of predators in promoting aspen health by reintroducing natural ecological factors and provides management recommendations.

Duck Creek Allotment 2005 - This is the original assessment of current forage production and utilization by livestock showing a large reduction from potential production due to overstocking and lack of rest for plants to recover.

Duck Creek Allotment Riparian Monitoring 2008 - An assessment of riparian condition and utilization by livestock showing photodocumentation of numerous locations and stubble heights along the greenline greatly exceeding the standard. BLM never monitored the standard and did away with it after we documented the failure of permittees to ever meet it on any location.

Duck Creek Allotment Riparian Monitoring 2012 - This report summarizes the extreme utilization, stream bank alteration by livestock trampling and greenline stubble height in the second year following implementation of new upland water developments and a four pasture deferred grazing system. Those changes were claimed by BLM to reduce riparian use and allow stream banks to recover. The report documents why those claims were false.

West Fork Blacks Fork – describes sheep grazing and its damage to sensitive meadows, alpine and subalpine basins and resulting effects of flood forces on streams that lead to loss of habitat for cutthroat trout.

These reports and research have been generated by Dr. Carter and partners, apply to the Yellowstone to Uintas Corridor and largely relate to livestock grazing issues. They provide a detailed insight into the problem with photos and quantitative data. You may download them at the links provided.

Bear River Range Habitat Assessment - This report assessed condition of various plant communities, riparian areas and collected data on the distribution of ground cover for numerous locations. It shows that habitats are degraded, largely by livestock grazing, to a point far from potential. Ground cover is greatly reduced leading to accelerated erosion and loss of water storage capacity in the watersheds. The Maps and Photos are also available for download.

Duck Creek Allotment 2005 - This is the original assessment of current forage production and utilization by livestock showing a large reduction from potential production due to overstocking and lack of rest for plants to recover.

Duck Creek Allotment Riparian Monitoring 2008 - An assessment of riparian condition and utilization by livestock showing photodocumentation of numerous locations and stubble heights along the greenline greatly exceeding the standard. BLM never monitored the standard and did away with it after we documented the failure of permittees to ever meet it on any location.

Duck Creek Allotment Riparian Monitoring 2012 - This report summarizes the extreme utilization, stream bank alteration by livestock trampling and greenline stubble height in the second year following implementation of new upland water developments and a four pasture deferred grazing system. Those changes were claimed by BLM to reduce riparian use and allow stream banks to recover. The report documents those claims were false as anyone who studies the science would understand.

Duck Creek Allotment Summary 2005 thru 2012 - This 2013 report presents the results of 8 years of data collection demonstrating the complete failure of BLM’s upland water development and four pasture grazing system in protecting streams and streamside areas.   Use levels in stream areas remained the same prior to and following installation of water troughs and new pasture fences that further fragment sage grouse and pronghorn habitat.

Paris Creek E. Coli Investigation 2017 - Over the summer and fall of 2016, Yellowstone to Uintas Connection and Western Watersheds Project measured levels of E. coli and fecal coliform in Paris Creek, Idaho. The study found that areas downstream of livestock grazing exceeded legal levels of E. coli contamination on a number of occasions. To meet E. coli standards, we recommend the state enforce certain Best Management Practices, such as to include access control, fencing, pipelines and spring developments, and riparian forest buffers. Furthermore, the best practice to prevent excessive contamination is to fence out livestock from the stream itself.

Rich County Assessment 2001 - This assessment looked at several allotments in Rich County, Utah. It documented riparian over use, high sediment impacts in streams and other damage by livestock. It also measured current forage capacity showing it reduced significantly from potential.

Spatial Analysis of Livestock Grazing and Forest Service Management in the High Uintas Wilderness, Utah 2020 - This paper reveals the damage being done to our watersheds and the Uinta Wilderness by grazing tens of thousands of domestic sheep on steep slopes and in areas not suitable for grazing due to erosion hazard, damage to streams and lakes, and displacement of wildlife. Dr. Carter has spent decades exploring this Wilderness and surveying the damage caused by grazing livestock here. This paper and its analysis expose the Forest Service for its lack of management and protection of these values even though their own scientists first documented the damage in the 1960's.

West Fork Black’s Fork Assessment 2006 - This report presents the results of Dr. Carter’s many survey trips into the Uinta Wilderness to collect data on watershed condition and document damage resulting from grazing and trailing thousands of sheep in this high elevation and sensitive environment.   Watersheds that are not grazed by sheep are use for comparison. To date about 100,000 acres have been surveyed and additional data will be added from later surveys. Forest Service research in the 1970’s said these areas were not suitable for grazing, yet it continues.

These reviews and comments provide you with information you can use for your own comments to the Forest Service, BLM or other land management agencies.

Motorized Recreation Impacts - Describes the impacts to air, land, water, wildlife and quiet recreationists, including noise and behavioral aspects. This is extracted from detailed comments on the six Utah BLM Resource Management Plan Environmental Impact Statements circa 2008.

Utilization and Grazing Systems - This brief synopsis reviews the science on livestock grazing regarding appropriate use levels, the need for rest, the application of grazing systems and their effectiveness. Both uplands and riparian areas are included.

Updating the Animal Unit Month - This analysis and report updates government information on the weights and forage consumption of cattle and sheep grazing on public lands, shows that current forage allocations by the Forest Service and BLM grossly underestimate consumption by todays larger animals. For cattle, it shows that consumption is double that allocation and should result in a halving of current stocking rates.

Livestock and Water Quality - This report reviews the contribution of livestock and agriculture pollution to our Nation’s waters, how the various attributes such as watersheds, stream flow, sedimentation, dissolved oxygen, nutrients are affected by livestock, particularly cattle. It discusses diseases involved, and presents a case study of local watersheds and streams in the Bear River Range, Utah.

Aspen Management - This review presents information on the factors involved in aspen decline, the importance of aspen to water storage, the role of livestock in aspen decline and conifer invasion. There is an annotated bibliography of the pertinent sources provided as well.

Vegetation/Fuels Management - This report addresses many of the fallacies our public lands agencies buy into with regard to vegetation projects intended to decrease wildfire risk and enhance wildlife habitat.

Spatial Analysis of Livestock Grazing and Forest Service Management in the High Uintas Wilderness, Utah 2020 - This paper reveals the damage being done to our watersheds and the Uinta Wilderness by grazing tens of thousands of domestic sheep on steep slopes and in areas not suitable for grazing due to erosion hazard, damage to streams and lakes, and displacement of wildlife. Dr. Carter has spent decades exploring this Wilderness and surveying the damage caused by grazing livestock here. This paper and its analysis expose the Forest Service for its lack of management and protection of these values even though their own scientists first documented the damage in the 1960's.

Upland Water and Deferred Rotation Effects on Cattle Use in Riparian and Upland Areas - This is a scientific article on many years of monitoring studies on the Duck Creek allotment (Rich County, northeastern Utah), and why the BLM's approach of not reducing stocking rates and simply adding more pastures and fences and water does not equate to better health and function of the resources. The article will be published in the range management journal Rangelands.

Range Management and Climate Change - This is a paper by Dr. Carter and co-authors presenting years of research on the Duck Creek allotment, evaluating BLM monitoring by using quantitative comparisons to their qualitative assessments and demonstrating livestock impacts to the terrestrial and riparian systems. The paper points out the role of livestock grazing in climate change and how systems near potential are more resistant to drought and climate change.

Moderating Livestock Grazing Effects to Carbon and Nitrogen Storage - This paper by Dr. Carter and co-authors was based on surveys in the Bear River Range in Utah and Idaho. It showed how livestock grazing reduces the stored carbon and nitrogen by removing the herbaceous vegetation and destroying mycorrhizal fungi in forest soils by trampling.

Holistic Management: Misinformation on the Science of Grazed Ecosystems - A review paper by Dr. Carter and co-authors refuting the claims that livestock grazing can restore degraded ecosystems and reverse climate change.

Please visit some of our partners to get involved with their efforts as well.

• Alliance for the Wild Rockies
• Biophilia Foundation
• Fund For Wild Nature
• Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance
• Jones Family Foundation
• Maki Foundation
• New-Land Foundation
• Patagonia Outlet Salt Lake City
• The Sperling Foundation
• Western Wildlife Conservancy
• Western Wildway Initiative by Wildlands Network
• Western Watersheds Project
• Sage Brush Habitat Conservation Fund
• Wilderness Watch
• Friends of the Clearwater

The Wildlife News – This news outlet provides up to date articles and discussion about many of the species occurring in the Yellowstone to Uintas Corridor, sage grouse, wolves, bighorn sheep and others.

The Utah Wolf Forum – The Utah Wolf Forum is a coalition of scientists, conservationists, and other concerned citizens, established to facilitate understanding of the consequences of wolves coming to Utah and to work with interested citizens to ensure that the State of Utah will develop a plan for managing wolves. You can go to the link and request to join the discussion.

Love Holidays -  Explores the value of spending time outdoors in US national parks – including a look at why we feel so good outside, why US national parks are some of the most amazing outdoor spaces, and how to enjoy them safely.