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Grassland Management on
Tribal Lands: a Panel Discussion 1
Gary Nabhan2 , Moderator
Gary Nabhan opened the session with comments on the importance of having two-way conversations
among tribal people and others and pointing out that it used to be just "white men" telling people how to do
it the white man's way. Therefore, he invited information from representatives present from the Tohono
O'odham Nation, Navajo Nation, and the San Carlos Apache Tribe.
GRAZING MANAGEMENT ON THE TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION
Homer Marks and Erwin Juan spoke about management of grasslands on the 2.8 million acre Tohono
O'odham Nation. The area is divided into eleven districts, each with its own management style and
problems. Governing Councils make many decisions in a democratic fashion and in most areas activities
such as round-ups are handled collectively. While some areas are fenced, many areas are not. The
presence of highways, where lands are usually fenced may complicate management. The association owns
the cattle and all have one association brand, but individuals run their own herds and have a second
individual brand. The association rounds up cattle, taking 10% of the proceeds for upkeep of the area. They
also round up wild horses. Homer Marks described management in the 293,000 acre district where he
lives. There is no association and most decisions are made by consensus. The process is quite democratic
and everyone has a voice. Although he is a "small owner" he is the President of his district for a two year
term. The "big owner" is "just one of the guys." His district is working toward better management and trying
the HRM method, but more fences are needed.
There are real management differences between the "old days" and the present, especially response to
drought, which occurs about once each decade. In the old days, people kept cattle and let them die of
starvation. Now they prepare for drought and reduce cattle numbers where appropriate. Problems arise
when many cattle are placed on the market at once and the prices plummet. The association attempts to
save money for drought periods.
Erwin Juan spoke about his 9,000 acre district which is divided into fenced off areas. Highway 86 cuts
the district in half and is a conduit for the exotic lovegrass. His district is a little higher than the one Marks
described and gets a little more rainfall, so conditions are different. Herefords used to be the main breed,
but now they are cross-breeding for leaner meat for today's market.
In some areas the mesquite and acacia are so thick you can't ride a horse through, although cattle can
get through. They have tried to eliminate mesquite by chaining to stimulate grass production, but found that
sometimes it just stimulated tree growth. They have tried to break areas down into smaller pastures, but
found that sometimes that just made it possible for more catclaw acacia to grow. They are also trying
prescribed burns, but that is not allowed near Kitt Peak.
1
2
Summarized by Barbara Tellman, Water Resources Research Center, University of Arizona,
Tucson AZ.
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson AZ.
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The association is trying to educate people on better management of the land, especially young people
who are more responsive to new ideas than the older people are. Two or three families own most of the
cattle and there is a need to work together.
MANAGEMENT ON THE NAVAJO NATION
Elsie Nez described conditions and problems on the Navajo-Hopi partitioned lands area where she works
for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Hopi lands are surrounded by Navajo lands, divided into three districts.
She manages one of 468,000 acres. When the lands were partitioned, an inventory was done of people,
sheep, cattle, goats, horses, etc. Most of the Navajo area is open range with no regulations. The Hopi
lands are fenced off and have regulations. Throughout the Navajo Nation each district is different and one
chapter may have several different associations dealing with grazing matters. Bureau of Indian Affairs pretty
much operates in a "hands-off" manner, with the associations and chapters being independent.
It is very difficult to manage grazing and most of the area is in really poor condition. Some of the worst
depletion has been in the past ten years. They are trying to get people to reduce their livestock numbers
voluntarily, but without great success. Regulations are being held up by politics and BIA has little money for
management. BIA maintains windmills and fences, but is mostly into education and persuasion. There are
many project in the planning stage, such as earth dams and erosion control measures, but everyone is just
waiting for regulations to be accepted by the Navajo Nation and the federal government.
MANAGEMENT ON SAN CARLOS LANDS
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Teresa Goseyon talked about problems on the San Carlos Apache lands, which are very different from
either the first two areas discussed. The lands range from desert to high mountain alpine conditions and are
divided by mountain ranges. There are seven major cattle ranches, all with Herefords. Five associations
govern the areas with elected boards. Each ranch has its own brand. Cattle can't be moved from desert to
mountains during drought periods because of ranch boundaries. Politics plays a big role in decision making.
The "big owners" have a great deal of power and the "little guys" have little say.
Traditionally, all the cattle have been Herefords, genetically bred for that environment. Some recent
attempts at cross-breeding have not been too successful because the biggest ranch owners don't want
change. San Carlos Apaches have been very successful in rodeos, training on the local cattle in the
mesquite-juniper lands.
The recent drought hit the area pretty badly and there were few backup resources. One major problem
was in transporting water from San Carlos Lake to the cattle. The water is owned by the San Carlos Irrigation
Project (Anglo, not the tribe). Only the top 1811 of water in the lake belong to the tribe. Laws to protect fish
may help the tribe since the Project may have to close the dam gates to protect the fish. This was one of
the few times that the tribe appreciated environmental laws.
SOIL CONSERVATION AND WATER DISTRICTS
Kristin Egen, representing the Natural Resources Conservation Service, described the role of Soil and
Water Conservation Districts which occur on all Indian lands except the White Mountain Apache Tribe. The
Southwestern Indian Association is attempting to coordinate dialogues among tribes to discuss farming,
grazing and other issues, so that tribes can learn from each other and improve their methods.
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