Cattle in Beaverhead County, Montana, 1942, photo by Lee Russell

In a land where rainfall is seasonal, great bison buffalo herds maintained the prairie grasses by eating the tips of the grasses, and pounding the seeds pack into the soil, fertilizing and keeping the cycles of growth and regrowth in a semi-arid environment.  The prairie grasses of the high plains continue into the valleys and foothills of the Rocky Mountains, before the forests begin at the higher elevations.  These great herds of buffalo formed one irreplaceable part of the North American Prairie ecosystem, which had evolved over hundreds of thousands of years.  Estimated to be at a population of at least 35 million at the time horses were introduced to North America, they were reduced to as few as 500 at the turn of the 20th century. By the late 19th century, their place on the prairie had been taken up by a smaller, more docile grazing animal, the cow. They were small enough to put on trains, docile enough to be herded in large numbers by a few cowboys, and tough enough to be taken on long journeys westward with families looking to realize Manifest Destiny.   The Plains tribes lost their food source in the loss of the buffalo, and they were pushed westward, eventually onto reservations, as demand grew for homesteads and good grazing land for the cattle and cattle barons.  On the reservations, they were often given cattle for subsistence and economy, but by the early 20th century their herds were nearly diminished as more land and cows were sold for cash around the time of the First World War, when beef was in high demand for soldiers overseas. 

In the 1860’s, there were some cattle herded through the forests of the lower rocky mountains in Nevada and Utah, but the big rush to raise cattle in the rocky mountains was brought by the gold, silver, and copper ore strikes in Montana, Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada.   A booming town needed a ready supply of food.  Cattle were herded from California, Oregon, and Texas to populate some of the first herds, and provide food for the hungry miners and the eventual settlements that grew up to support them.  Before the railroad lines were laid in the 1880’s, few foods could be imported.  The growing season was short, and so cattle provided an ample supply of food in these areas, turning the prairie grasses into meat.    If you go to Southwest Montana, this pattern of industry settlement is quite evident.  Original mining towns such as Butte, Virginia City, and Bannack are surrounded by some of the oldest in ranches in the state, including the ranch that is now the La Cense Ranch, and the historic Grant-Kohrs Ranch near Deer Lodge.  

European Aristocracy would arrive by train in scenic cattle towns like Sheridan Wyoming, and establish large cattle holdings.  The dichotomy of big cattle baron and small family rancher was present from the beginning.  Towns like Sheridan, Dillon, and others held train depots for the shipping of cattle to Chicago.  These towns grew up around the cowboy economy.  Stop in any western town and you’ll find a “Stockman’s” bar. 

The larger herds of cattle brought up from Texas to Montana and Wyoming were decimated in the harsh winter of 1886-87, ending the great free-roaming era.  The land had already been overgrazed, and if the cattle didn’t freeze to death, they starved to death.  Scarce grazing land following this catastrophe fueled a desire among cattlemen to actually own and fence good grazing lands, and to encourage management and distribution of grazing lands on federal land.  This amounted to the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, which established grazing districts, fees, and limited the number of cattle that could graze within a district.

Much of the land in the West remained the property of the Federal Government.  Writers such as John Muir set the stage for the conservation movement, making public opinion of the destiny of these pubic lands.  Muir’s arguments for preservation of the forests in the west led to the creation of 15 forest preserves in 1897, and the eventual creation of the Forest Service.  The BLM, the other public land management agency, was established in 1954, serving to oversee grazing fees and lands management that were not considered National Forest domain.  Stockgrowers associations were formed in each state and they grew over the years into an influential alliance of cattleman who helped to manage grazing districts and lobby for stockgrowers rights.