Considering the nexus between public grazing lands and privately owned rangelands in the American West, some scholars argue that reduced access to public grazing allotments can result in subdivision or land conversion of private lands affiliated with livestock production—an argument presented as a choice between “cows or condos.” This argument has been applied to compensated permit waivers, a tool meant to reduce wildlife-livestock and other conflicts on public lands. We tested this “cows or condos” hypothesis by conducting semistructured interviews and a survey of permittees who have participated in a permit waiver, and through a property and records analysis of privately owned properties affiliated with 49 permittees who have accepted compensation to waive a federal grazing permit in the West since 1999. While we found no evidence of subdivision on private properties, common themes and mixed experiences arose from the producers we communicated with. Nearly every producer was experiencing untenable conflict on their grazing lease, most producers would have preferred to remain on their allotment if conflicts were reduced but were grateful they received compensation for waiving their permit, and many producers expressed concerns about the impacts of ongoing fragmentation of rangelands across the American West. The permit waiver presented difficulties for some producers, but for others the permit waiver was a catalyst for expanding their operation. Conflict with wildlife, agency restrictions, and exorbitant land values were cited by most producers as factors compromising their operation. We found no evidence to support the claim that compensated permit waivers are driving subdivision in the West; rather, many ranchers indicated the rapid development and fragmentation of Western landscapes is a major factor reducing the viability of livestock production.

中文翻译：

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奶牛或公寓：联邦放牧许可证豁免补偿后牧场主和土地使用结果

考虑到美国西部公共放牧地和私人牧场之​​间的联系，一些学者认为，公共放牧分配权的减少可能会导致与畜牧业生产相关的私人土地的细分或土地转换——这一论点表现为“奶牛”和“奶牛”之间的选择。或公寓。”这一论点已应用于有偿许可豁免，这是一种旨在减少公共土地上野生动物与牲畜和其他冲突的工具。我们通过半结构化访谈和对参与许可证豁免的持证人的调查，以及对 49 名已接受联邦放牧补偿的持证人的私有财产进行财产和记录分析，检验了这一“奶牛还是公寓”的假设。自 1999 年起，西方就开始允许这种做法。虽然我们没有发现私人财产分割的证据，但我们所交流的生产者却出现了共同的主题和复杂的经历。几乎每个生产者都在其放牧租约上遇到了难以维持的冲突，如果冲突减少，大多数生产者宁愿保留其分配的土地，但他们很感激他们因放弃许可证而获得补偿，许多生产者对牧场持续破碎化的影响表示担忧横跨美国西部。许可证豁免给一些生产商带来了困难，但对于其他生产商来说，许可证豁免是扩大其业务的催化剂。大多数生产商将与野生动物的冲突、机构限制和过高的土地价值视为影响其运营的因素。我们没有发现任何证据支持有偿许可证豁免正在推动西部地区细分的说法。相反，许多牧场主表示，西部地区景观的快速发展和破碎化是降低畜牧业生产活力的一个主要因素。