An analysis of western ranching politics brought to you by the PLC
IN THE LATEST NEWS…
BLM Rule: PLC leads livestock groups in opposition; Western Governors opposed
Ranchers call on BLM to withdraw proposed conservation rule, Capital Press – A proposed rule that would allow the Bureau of Land Management to offer conservation-only leases was written without consulting ranchers and others who depend on the land. In a letter to Tracy Stone-Manning, BLM director, about 60 livestock groups said cattle and sheep producers have been partners with BLM in managing the 245 million acres of federal land in the West for generations. Yet, BLM neglected to engage them in the promulgation of the proposed rule and gave no indication it was proposing a new rule, they said. “Individually, each of the components of the proposed rule would have warranted substantive and detailed discussion. Together, they demand the BLM do the necessary work of engaging with stakeholders to avoid conflict and develop durable outcomes,” they said. BLM’s five public information sessions on the proposed rule have done little to compensate for the agency’s lack of advanced discussion. Instead of holding dialogues in places where federal grazing permittees and other multiple use stakeholder groups operate, the agency elected to host briefings in urban centers, they said.
Gov. Noem and Colleagues Oppose Proposed BLM Rule, News.SD – Today, Governor Kristi Noem and five of her fellow Republican governors sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland opposing the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposed rule on “Conservation and Landscape Health.” Governor Noem will testify on Capitol Hill regarding the same subject tomorrow, June 15th, at 8:00am CT. You can read the letter here. “This Proposed Rule, if adopted, could fundamentally alter the future management of BLM lands to the detriment of recreation, livestock grazing, mineral extraction, renewable energy production, and other common uses on BLM lands,” wrote Governor Noem and her colleagues. “We oppose the Proposed Rule and urge the BLM to start over, withdraw its proposal, and instead focus its efforts on working closely with states, local governments, and stakeholders on rulemaking that will truly enhance active management and actual conservation of BLM lands within the framework of multiple use and sustained yield.” Tomorrow, Governor Noem’s testimony will focus on reminding the committee that our land is our greatest resource – and God isn’t making any more of it. She will point out that Washington bureaucrats do not know how to manage land better than the folks who have been stewarding it for generations. She will articulate how BLM’s proposed rule would devastate conservation and management efforts, harm wildlife, slow economic growth, and endanger public safety. Governor Noem was joined by the following Republican governors in issuing the statement: Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.
Multiple Use: BLM proposes massive fee cut for wind and solar on federal land.
U.S. proposes to formalize deep fee reductions for wind and solar on federal land, KDAL – A new regulation will formalize a roughly 80% cut in project fees for wind and solar energy developments on federal lands under a proposal by the Biden administration on Thursday as part of a strategy to boost renewable energy to fight climate change. The Interior Department’s U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) last year had lowered rent fees and lease rates for solar and wind by about 50%, using departmental authority, after developers complained they were too high to draw investment. Thursday’s proposal from the Interior Department would deepen those fee reductions and enshrine the changes in a formal regulation – making them harder to reverse under a future political administration. President Joe Biden wants to decarbonize the U.S. electricity sector by 2035, a goal that will require rapid deployment of large amounts of wind and solar energy. The BLM manages one in every 10 acres of land in the United States and Interior has a congressional mandate to permit 25 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy on federal lands by 2025.
Canadian wildfires open the door for PLC to advocate for producers; SW Oregon fires finally extinguished
Canadian wildfires helped the Public Lands Council better advocate for U.S. producers, RFDTV – The haze from the Canadian wildfires is clearing out here in the U.S., but not before helping the Public Lands Council better advocate for farmers and ranchers in D.C. “Even though they weren’t American wildfires, it gave us a really good opportunity to talk about why this sort of ongoing discussion about whether it’s forest management or whether it’s climate change or whether it’s something else,” says Kaitlynn Glover, the Executive Director for PLC and NCBA. “Something needs to be done and there’s a lot of bipartisan agreement on certain pieces. It gave us a really great opportunity to talk about reduced forage or reduced fuel, right? The role that grazing can play in reducing that wildfire risk and even making sure that good fire doesn’t become bad fire across those millions of acres across the West.” Glover said sadly wildfires are always going to be a harsh reality our producers have to face, especially until we have more durable fixes.
Several fires extinguished in Rogue River-Siskiyou Nat’l Forest, Fox 26 – Several fires across southwest Oregon have been completely extinguished. The U.S. Forest Service said the Reeder, Rabbit, Ten, Wolf, and Sugarloaf fires in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest have all been declared as “out.” A new fire — the Boundary Fire — was found Tuesday in the High Cascade Ranger District. As of Wednesday morning, the half-acre fire was lined and in the mop-up phase. The Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest currently has regular staffing resources along with 12 additional engines, two 20-person initial attack crews, one dozer, and two falling modules. “Please remain vigilant with fire prevention by thoroughly dousing campfires, avoid parking over dry vegetation that could ignite and do not allow your tow chains to drag on pavement,” the Forest Service said. “The fine fuels at the lower elevations are rapidly drying out. Thank you for helping prevent wildfires!”
Wildlife: Forest Service to run environmental review of grazing impact on bighorn sheep; Bill reintroduced in Congress to ban cyanide bombs; Sage grouse given endangered species protections in CA; Court case on lesser prairie chicken status in NM continues; 9th Circuit Court affirms USFS policy to close old logging roads to protect grizzly bears.
In lawsuit settlement, USFS to reexamine grazing threat to bighorns, NCW Life – The U.S Forest Service must examine whether to close grazing allotments for domestic sheep in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. That’s the upshot of a settlement reached with wildlife conservation groups who sued the agency in federal court to protect wild bighorn sheep. Bacterial pneumonia that spreads from domestic herds has sickened wild herds like the Quilomene, which ranges from Malaga to Ellensburg. The plaintiffs argued the Forest Service continued to authorize domestic sheep grazing on allotments near bighorn herds despite knowing of the threat as far back as 2010. To settle the case, the agency agreed to complete a long-overdue environmental review, which could help decide whether to end that practice. This year, Fish and Wildlife adopted a new rule prohibiting domestic sheep and goats from certain sensitive areas of the bighorn range.
‘Canyon’s Law’ bill bans M-44 ejector from public lands, Redheaded Blackbelt – United States Representatives Jared Huffman (CA-02) and Steve Cohen (TN-09) and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) re-introduced Canyon’s Law, legislation to ban from public lands the M-44 ejector – a spring-loaded device filled with sodium cyanide used to kill predatory animals and pest species. “Cyanide bombs are a cruel and indiscriminate device that have proven to be deadly for pets, humans, and wildlife – regardless of the intended target,” said Rep. Huffman. “Families should be able to enjoy the outdoors without the fear of accidentally detonating these devices. They have no business being on our public lands, especially when there are far safer, proven methods to protect livestock, and our bill will bring an end to their use.”
Greater sage grouse given California Endangered Species Act protections, Courthouse News – The greater sage grouse, in a way, is a barometer for the health of the land. Its numbers have been dropping for years in California. Scientists have pointed to several reasons: habitat loss, land development, mining and climate change. It’s feared the bird’s subpopulations in the state could disappear. That’s why advocates for the greater sage grouse are praising a move Wednesday by the state’s Fish and Game Commission, which now provides California Endangered Species Act protections for the bird. “They are very uncommon in California,” said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “They’re really a barometer for the health of the Great Basin Desert.” In 2022, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned for the protections, which were recommended in April by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. That was followed on Wednesday by the bird’s elevation to candidate species. The move isn’t permanent. The Department of Fish and Wildlife will now perform a scientific review and return in about a year with a final recommendation. “It remains protected until the commission makes a decision to make it permanent or not,” Anderson said.
Environmental groups defend lesser prairie chicken’s federal protections in New Mexico, Carlsbad Current Argus – Conservationists sought to defend federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken amid legal challenges filed by multiple states in its protected range, since the bird was listed as endangered earlier this spring. The bird, a rare grouse species historically known to live throughout the American West, was listed as endangered in March in its southern range in southeast New Mexico and West Texas and threatened in another area of northern Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas. An endangered listing means a species’ extinction is believed imminent, and makes it illegal for land users to kill or “take” individuals under most circumstances, while threatened status indicates an endangered listing could soon be warranted. The lesser prairie chicken’s population dwindled severely in recent years, imperiled by oil and gas, agriculture and other developments throughout the range, leading to the listing filed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This came after decades of debate on the bird’s recovery, impacts from local industries and the need to save it from dying out. Fossil and agriculture industry leaders opposed the listing as one that could stymie economic development, and the state leaders in Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma filed a lawsuit in April seeking to overturn the listing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas Midland-Odessa Division.
U.S. appeals court reverses ruling against Forest Service road closures, Montana Public Radio – A federal appeals court has reversed a ruling that said the U.S. Forest Service violated the Endangered Species Act by harming grizzly bears. It’s not the last challenge to the agency’s policies for closing logging roads. The U.S. District Court in Missoula previously ruled that the Forest Service wasn’t doing enough to protect grizzlies through the agency’s efforts to block motorized access on decommissioned logging roads. But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rendered that decision moot because the Forest Service is using a new policy to guide how it closes roads. The Forest Service applauded the ruling, saying it vindicated the agency. But the Swan View Coalition, one of the plaintiffs in the original case, says the agency is still harming bears by improperly decommissioning roads and another lawsuit is underway.
Wild Horses: Wyoming’s legislature is fed up with exploding wild horse population.
Winterkill Wiped Out Deer & Antelope Herds, But Wild Horse Population Is Exploding, Cowboy State Daily – Wyoming’s mustangs seem to have pulled though this past harsh winter well — maybe too well. There are more than twice as many on the range as the state is supposed to have, says a Bureau of Land Management official. “We are not seeing the same level of mortality (among mustangs) that other ungulates are seeing,” according to preliminary estimates of the winter death toll, said Kris Kirby, the associate state director of the BLM’s Wyoming headquarters. In parts of Wyoming, winterkill decimated mule deer and antelope herds. Meanwhile, there are an estimated 8,181 mustangs roaming across roughly 5 million acres in 16 herd management areas that the BLM oversees in Wyoming, she said. The agency’s target population is 3,725 horses. And there’s no telling when, or how, the BLM will get the mustang population down to the target number, she said during her testimony to the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee. The mustangs are a huge source of frustration for some in Wyoming, members of the committee said.
Mexican Wolves: Wolf relocated after straying from pack.
Mexican wolf relocated after traveling over 500 miles into New Mexico, KRQE – A female Mexican wolf has been successfully moved from New Mexico back to Arizona. The wolf had traveled too far away from her pack and was not able to successfully breed in alignment with the Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan. The wolf was born into Arizona’s Rocky Prairie pack in 2021. In 2022, she was given a radio collar for tracking purposes. Eventually, the wolf left her pack and traveled over 500 miles out of the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA) and into New Mexico near Taos. The lack of wolves in the New Mexico area meant there was no chance for the female to breed and contribute to the Mexican wolf recovery efforts. The wolf was captured and moved to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Sevilleta facility to be paired with a mate.
WILDFIRE UPDATE
Number of new large fires or emergency response: 2
Number of active large fires: 7
Acres in active fires: 72,907
Fires contained: 0
*Updated as of June 15, National Interagency Fire Center*