Comanche Grassland Management Plan Process Update

By Norman L. Kincaide, Ph.D.

Through the auspices of Margaret Byfield of American Stewards of Liberty, Barb, Zane and Andee Leininger were able to meet with Chief of the Forest Service, Tom Schultz in Washington D.C., November 19, 2025. During this meeting the Leiningers and Byfield were able to express the concerns of Comanche National Grassland Allotment Owners regarding the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands Draft Assessment for a revised management plan.

These concerns were as follows, public meetings notice by the United States Forest Service (USFS) was not sent to grazing districts or Allotment Owners. Email addresses collected at the Timpas Grazing District Annual Meeting in January 2025 were never added to the USFS email list. No communication or invitation was extended by the Forest Service to allotment owners and grazing districts asking for stocking rates, improvements, current management activities or monitoring data.

Zane & Barb Leininger, Leininger Ranch Comanche Grassland Allotment, September 15, 2025

The Draft Assessment was produced by an independent contractor, AECOM from Dallas, Texas. There was evidence that Artificial Intelligence (AI) was used to gather data about grassland units, instead of gathering information in-person in the plan area. Therefore, inaccurate data was collected with unverified sources from the internet. The list of Species of Conservation Concern included species which had never existed in the grasslands. There was obvious anti-agriculture and anti-grazing sentiments in the assessment.

Forest Service employees in Colorado didn’t know what information was contained in the draft assessment and were unable, and at times, unwilling, to answer questions about content therein. Climate change was a big focus of the draft, even though it is not a priority of the Trump Administration. The draft mentions climate change predictions for the years 2071-2090, which is way beyond the scope of this management plan set to begin in 2026. The focus on prairie dogs was overemphasized and data quoted in the draft assessment actually illustrated an increase in prairie dog populations.

The Wild and Scenic River Designation for the Purgatoire River was completely unrealistic. The Purgatoire (Purgatory) River is not free flowing, never deep enough to be navigable in the plan area and is rarely fishable. Areas along the Purgatoire in which water pools were fenced off for many years being toxic to livestock, before grazing in the area was terminated; Draft assessment admits that when water is present, quality is low as there are naturally occurring high concentrations of arsenic and manganese present. The Draft then blames agriculture and urbanization as causes of pollution and poor water quality.

Allotment Owners seek re-instatement of grazing in Purgatoire region. Most of the area is overgrown with weeds, prompting the Forest Service to mow areas around trails. Grazing would be more effective. The area was historically grazed when the Rourk Ranch was active but grazing was removed when the United States Army created the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site through eminent domain. When the Army gave the Purgatoire River region back to the Forest Service, grazing was never reinstated.

Allotment Owners further requested the removal from the Draft Assessment of Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) influence, the extraneous Species of Conservation Concern, the proposed Wild and Scenic River designation for the Purgatoire River, while preferring the development of a practical, usable, Resource Management Plan that emphasizes grazing livestock.

The Leiningers met Chief of the Forest Service, Tom Schultz, between regularly scheduled meetings. They explained the circumstances of their ranch which has 7,000 deeded acres, 17,000 acres of Comanche Grassland, along with some leased state of Colorado land. They communicated the above concerns which were briefly discussed.  Schultz agreed that the Draft Assessment was very poorly done, stating: “No, I haven’t read it, no one reads a 1500-page document.” Due to staffing shortages in the Forest Service, draft assessments are contracted out. The Forest Service will not request a complete reset; it takes too long. They will rework the current assessment, make it shorter, make it accurate, and continue through the NEPA process. This must involve Tribes, stakeholders, Grazing Districts and county commissioners. Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and Public Lands Council will be involved if they want to.

The Public Land Council met with Troy Heithecker, Forest Service Region 2 Director, who indicated there was no intention of taking land, that the revised management plan would be more user focused. They would meet with Heithecker to incorporate monitoring data and foment coordination with Cooperating Agencies such as county commissioners. Margaret Byfield interjected that Coordination needs to be continuous. Garfield County, Colorado, holds quarterly meetings with Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This is necessary for development, maintenance, revision and implementation, to the extent that is practical.

Schultz illustrated a shared stewardship example wherein Wyoming administers federal grazing permits. Counties, states and tribes help the Forest Service identify geographic area capacity while the Forest Service is the caretaker. Allotment owners will be able to influence information in the revised draft assessment. Montana has a twenty-year agreement of shared stewardship. There was an addendum for counties with natural resource plans. Furthermore, the Association of Counties can work directly with USFS. Upper Forest Service management would like to implement a mentorship program wherein Forest Service employees would work on a ranch for six months before taking up a position with the service.

Barb Leininger communicated that the Timpas Grazing Association Annual Meeting was very positive.  Beth Davis and James Pitts of the Forest Service attended and they were very accommodating. Davis asked for Allotment Owners monitoring data.  After the meeting, Davis asked Andee Leininger: “Are you going to help write the plan?” She said, "Yes."  Andee Leininger is a certified Range Management Professional and her input would be of utmost value to a revised range management plan. Davis and Pitts stressed the importance of grazing and seemed open to suggestions from allotment owners. Furthermore, Otero County Commissioners Rob Oquist and Tim Knabenshue and Las Animas County Commissioner, Tony Hass, received letters from the Forest Service asking if they desired to be Cooperating Agencies during the plan writing process. To which they responded in the affirmative. As a result of these developments, Allotment Owners are hopeful for improved relations with Forest Service employees through more effective communication, engagement, and meaningful input on the Comanche National Grasslands resource management plan.

Sources

Barb Leininger, Draft Assessment Concerns for Tom Schultz

Barb Leininger, Notes from meeting with Tom Schultz, November 19, 2025

Andee Leininger, Notes from meeting with Tom Schultz, November 19, 2025

Barb Leininger, Email, January 29, 2026: Timpas Grazing Assn. Annual Meeting, January 2026