Open grassland area near Merritt ‘not functioning’ after years of overgrazing: report

A Forest Practices Board investigation has found that a portion of the Coutlee Range Unit southwest of Merritt is not functioning, while a plan between range agreement-holders is invalid.

In its investigation report released Tuesday (Jan. 27), the Forest Practices Board finds the open grassland unit, which represents nearly nine per cent of the 2,840-hectare area of the Mine pasture within the Coutlee Range Unit, has been overgrazed for many years. The board says livestock grazing has led to a “material adverse effect on the ability of the upland area to achieve its intended functions.”

In June 2023, the board received a complaint from two of the six range agreement-holders regarding livestock grazing practices, fence maintenance, and compliance with the grazing schedule within the Mine pasture.

While the two complainants opted not to graze their livestock on any pasture within the Coutlee Range Unit, the board says the other four range agreement-holders met with B.C.’s Ministry of Forests in March 2023 and amended their grazing schedule without the complainants’ knowledge.

The amended grazing schedule wasn’t signed by complainants Gene Ewalt and Wayne Schindler.

(Image Credit: Forest Practices Board)

Under the Forest and Range Practices Act, the board says the amended grazing schedule is invalid as all range agreement-holders subject to the range use plan must sign the document and any amendments.

“In the board’s view, all six range agreement-holders knew or reasonably ought to have known that portions of the Mine pasture have been overgrazed and that the actions in the range use plan were not sufficient to deal with the minister’s issues… the complainants knew that the Mine pasture was overgrazed and took notable steps to enable the range to recover. The other four range agreement-holders did not take steps for the 2023 grazing season to address the poor condition of the Mine pasture,” the board states.

Additionally, the board says it couldn’t determine whether the agreement-holders complied with the actions in their range use plan to address issues identified by the Ministry, because the actions were not measurable or verifiable and therefore not enforceable.

In 2024, after the investigation, the board says the range agreement-holders agreed to a 25 per cent reduction in the forage needed to sustain an average cow for a month, along with not grazing livestock that year. In 2025, the board says livestock use in the Mine pasture was significantly reduced.

The board notes the Ministry of Forests has known about the poor condition of the Mine pasture and the broader range agreement area since 2009. That year, a forage supply review recommended reducing authorized grazing by more than half, estimating a 50-year period to reach full recovery.

The board’s full report can be found here.