I agree with John and Ranchwife on free ranging cattle and good practices policy. It can truly be a win/win situation if a little effort is taken. I didn't do a very good job of making a point earlier, that I'd like to make. I use as an example, the Teton River in Teton Basin, near Driggs, Idaho. Nearly all of this stream runs through private farms and ranches. However the river it's self doesn't belong to these private entities. It belongs to the public. This departs from the original post, in that the concern doesn't include public lands. What concerns me, is the feeling by some landowners, that they don't have to do anything in the way of protecting or mitigating damage done to public waters, by cattle that are penned on private property. I don't know if they are legally liable for damage done to streams and streambeds. I suspect not, or someone would have taken them to task by now. I'd really like to see some legislation protecting the banks of public streams from this sort of damage.
In the not too distant past, a developer was arrested for using a bulldozer on the banks of one of the streams in this same valley, that changed a relatively small area. I'm not sure just how much damage was done to the stream, but I do know that the developer got whacked pretty good for his illegal activity. In my opinion, he hasn't done any more damage than the cattle owners are doing, and they should be held just as accountable. Rant over. Take a rest.
They're just fish, right? Right?