Under both the Wilderness Act of 1964 and the Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990, domestic livestock grazing is specifically allowed in Wilderness. [Source: The 1964 Wilderness Act, 16 U.S.C.A. § 1133(d)(4).]

Furthermore, in the late 70’s, Congress released House Report 96-1126 stating : "To clarify any lingering doubts, the committee wishes to stress that this language means that there shall be no curtailment of grazing permits or privileges in an area simply because it is designated as wilderness."

To dispel any lingering doubts about the effect of Wilderness designation on grazing, Congress again released very specific instructions to allow grazing to continue in Wilderness Areas. In 1990, House Report 101-405 states: “There shall be no curtailment of grazing in wilderness areas simply because an area is, or has been designated as wilderness, nor should wilderness designation be used an excuse by administrators to slowly ‘phase out’ grazing.”

Maintenance and replacement of grazing facilities—such as fences, water wells, and stock tanks—is permitted in Wilderness, as is the use of motorized vehicles for needed maintenance or emergency purposes under special use permits.

In a 1991 study published in the Journal of Range Management, Mitchell P. McClaran of the University of Arizona found that wilderness designation on the Coronado and Tonto National Forests did not initiate grazing use reductions by the U.S. Forest Service. In fact, the study showed that there was a general increase in stocking of allotments in wilderness relative to non-wilderness allotments in the forests. [Source: McClaran, Mitchell. “Forest Service and livestock permittee behavior in relation to wilderness designation,” Journal of Range Management , 44 (5) September 1991.]