“Ranchers that operate on federal lands protect water sources used by livestock and wildlife, maintain fence lines, reduce spread of invasive weeds like cheatgrass and medusahead, and decrease the fuel loads that lead to catastrophic wildfire,” NCBA President Tracy Brunner said in a statement. “Despite these contributions, beneficiaries of our work continue to attack responsible grazing, essentially biting the hand that feeds them.”
Ranchers urge Trump to topple grouse plans, monuments
Livestock industry groups today renewed their push to halt federal sage grouse conservation plans, urging President-elect Donald Trump to freeze those efforts as well as roll back new federal monument designations and regulations on clean water and land-use planning.
The Public Lands Council and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association announced they will push the Trump administration to take those steps within its first 100 days, while also advocating for long-term changes to the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.
“Ranchers and other multiple-use interests in the West have been subjected to an almost wholesale shift in federal land management policy under the Obama administration,” Public Lands Council President Dave Eliason said in a statement. The group represents livestock ranchers who use public lands.
“While the Bureau of Land Management has a clear directive to manage BLM lands for multiple use and sustained yield, instead focus has shifted toward ‘conservation’ without responsible management,” he added. “The priorities laid out by the associations are necessary to restore balance to federal land management and set an agenda that will ensure that ranchers can continue their tradition of stewardship well into the future.”
Both groups’ priorities include stopping conservation plans that would restrict grazing activity in greater sage grouse habitat, which the organizations have previously argued are based on “flawed methodology” and “inaccurate science” (Greenwire, Oct. 11, 2016).
In addition, the livestock industry advocates urged the Trump administration to roll back President Obama’s use of the Antiquities Act to create new federal monuments, such as the recently established Gold Butte National Monument in southern Nevada and the Bears Ears National Monument in southeast Utah.
The groups also called for the withdrawal of BLM’s so-called Planning 2.0 rule, which aims to make land-use planning more responsive to the changing conditions on public lands as well as more accessible to the public (E&E News PM, Dec. 1, 2016).
They will also press the Trump administration to withdraw the Waters of the U.S. rule, which the GOP-controlled Congress is expected to attempt to block via legislation (E&E Daily, Jan. 3).
“Ranchers that operate on federal lands protect water sources used by livestock and wildlife, maintain fence lines, reduce spread of invasive weeds like cheatgrass and medusahead, and decrease the fuel loads that lead to catastrophic wildfire,” NCBA President Tracy Brunner said in a statement. “Despite these contributions, beneficiaries of our work continue to attack responsible grazing, essentially biting the hand that feeds them.”
Conservation groups as well as Democrats in Congress have pledged to fight such policy changes.
Jennifer Yachnin
Federal government is a bureaucracy that incrementally oversteps its boundaries. Actually, the state of California is pretty good at micromanagement and over-regulation, as well. Solution is to press lawmakers at all levels to return resource control to local authorities.
The BLM is nothing more than the enforcement arm for the United Nation’s! Agenda21/2030/2050 calls for the rewilding of most of the United States of America! Property rights , liberty and freedom be damned.
I have looked at the Public Lands Council, defense they are a shill for Bruce Babbitt. Please take a look at their representation. Also look up William B. Lazarus, DOJ US Attorney and or judge, he is involved. You must understand how this all happened. Bruce Babbitt hated, the farmers and ranchers, his cohort in crime is Charels Wilkinson, who with the help of William B. Lazarus, just received either $1 Billion dollars as a fake Native American look him up. The coup, in Public Lands Council v Bruce Babbitt US Supreme Court, is the “conservation section” of FLPMA, included the NEPA now No more statue no need for congress or the people’s house of represenativies. The rules are at the whims of a sociopath. Do not miss under stand the State REPRESENATIVES for the most part have agreed to participate. The first was the STEENS MOUNTAIN COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT ACT, serial No.107-124 [House of represenative natural resources oversight committee. Also reference Pew charitable foundation wilderness fund.