The Daily Roundup

Daily western ranching and political headlines brought to you by the Public Lands Council.

 

Daily Statistics

Current as of 10/25

Nationwide number of new large fires or emergency response: 0

Nationwide number of active large fires: 10

Nationwide acres from active fires: 1,817,491

Nationwide fires contained: 0

Western states currently reporting wildfires:

California (7)

Montana (1)

Oregon (1)

Washington (1)

This report is brought to you by the National Interagency Fire Center.

Western states to receive drought resiliency funding, Capital Press – Idaho, Washington state and California will be three of the recipients of a $21 million investment by USDA to help farmers and ranchers conserve water and build drought resiliency in their communities. The funding supports the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s collaboration with the Department of Interior’s WaterSMART Initiative. These investments complement projects by irrigation districts, water suppliers and other organizations receiving WaterSMART Program funds from the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation. In fiscal year 2022, NRCS will invest in 15 new priority areas and 25 existing priority areas with continued need, assisting producers and communities in 13 states across the West. NRCS is providing the funding through Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

 

North Dakota receives $500,000 to help manage stress for farmers and ranchers, KFYRTV – It’s been a stressful year for North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers after the drought, pandemic, labor strikes and reduced commodity prices have impacted agriculture. Now, there may be additional help on the way after the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded half a million dollars to the state Department of Ag for its Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. The project will work to offer educational programs, facilitate stress assistance efforts and help address the topic of improving mental health and well-being.

 

 

21 senators urge emergency protections for wolves in West, Capital Press – A group of Democratic lawmakers on Thursday urged the Biden administration to enact emergency protections for gray wolves in the U.S. West in response to Republican-backed state laws that make it easier to kill the predators. Twenty-one U.S. senators led by New Jersey’s Cory Booker and Michigan’s Gary Peters asked Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to shield wolves from being killed for 240 days while permanent protections are considered. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last month launched a year-long review to determine if protections need to be restored. The move did nothing to protect wolves in the interim, and Yellowstone National Park administrators have since complained after three wolves from a pack popular with tourists were killed after roaming into Montana.

 

US proposes changes to Mexican gray wolf management, Gillette News Record – Federal wildlife officials are proposing to change the way Mexican gray wolves are managed in the American Southwest, saying removing population limits and setting goals for genetic diversity will help the endangered species recover. The proposal also would allow more wolves to be released into the wild in New Mexico and Arizona, and place restrictions on permits issued to ranchers or state wildlife agencies that allow the killing of wolves if they prey on livestock, elk or deer. Environmentalists also have called for reforms aimed at limiting conflicts with livestock and releasing more captive packs into the wild.

 

NCBA Voices Concerns With Tighter Proposed ESA Regulations, WNAX – The Biden administration and the Fish And Wildlife Service are working to tighten Endangered Species Act regulations and remove the loosened rules put in by the Trump Administration. One of those regulations that the former President loosened was with critical habitat. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane says the Biden administration is now rolling back the loosening of that rule along with others. He says the one positive step the President and his agencies have taken with the ESA is the delisting of the gray wolf.

 

 

Grazing and pasture management are important heading into cooler months, AgWeek – According to Miranda Meehan, North Dakota State University Extension livestock and environmental stewardship specialist, last fall’s dry weather set up the area for a significant lack of forage production, alone causing a 25% decrease of overall forage production. “With the recent rains we’ve been receiving since late August and have been extending until now, we have a good surface and we’re starting to get some replenishment of that subsoil moisture,” Meehan said. Heading into the cooler months, producers should take extra care of the pastures that were grazed particularly hard this year and let them have time to recover and regrow.

 

Intensively managing grazing can increase profits, improve environment, News Wise – What is good for the environment can also be profitable for livestock producers. “By intensively managing grazing, producers can make money converting marginally productive cropland back to grassland, while at the same time reducing agriculture’s impact on the environment,” said South Dakota State University associate professor Tong Wang. “Grasses prevent soil erosion and their root systems penetrate the ground, increasing water infiltration and decreasing runoff and water pollution.” In addition, wildlife populations benefit from grassland habitat.

 

How to Make Grazing Work on National Grasslands, Successful Farming – “When buffalo traveled here, it was kind of like rotational grazing at its best,” he says. “Buffalo gradually moved all around. There were no fences for them. Now, with cattle and fences, we have to make sure the livestock never stay at one spot too long. We need to keep them constantly moving around, too, for the betterment of the grass. That’s replicating what it was like back when buffalo were here.” The grasses stay healthy because of the rotations. Their operation is unique in that their ranch depends on a mixture of their own private land, checkerboarded with tracts of U.S. Forest Service land. About two-thirds of their operation is on the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. “Without our leases on the grasslands, it would be pretty tough to make it,” he notes. The ranch pays the Forest Service with animal unit monthly (AUM) fees, so much per animal per month. “We’re one of the few people that use federal land who actually pay,” says Bob. “It’s a way of keeping the grass in check and so that it doesn’t get too long and tall.” Their grazing management reduces the chances of prairie fires and improves the grass health. The family works within the Forest Service guidelines for land use.

 

Idaho officials reject grazing-fee increase, costing schools, Idaho Business Review – Idaho officials have rejected a plan to raise grazing fees on state-managed land, costing K-12 public schools more than $530,000 annually. The Idaho Land Board voted 2-2 to defeat the proposal, with Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra voting against the plan, citing concerns by ranchers who said drought was hurting their businesses. “I think, like in education, teachers are the experts, and I believe ranchers are the experts,” Ybarra said.

 

 

Biden vowed to cut wildfire risk in California’s forests. Here’s how much he plans to spend, Modesto Bee – “Over the generations, over the decades, we have tried to do this job on the cheap,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who oversees the U.S. Forest Service. On Thursday President Joe Biden released a legislative package that would spend more than $15 billion over the next decade to help make forests less combustible in California and other states. The proposal is part of a compromise $1.75 trillion “Build Back Better” spending plan that Biden unveiled in a nationally televised address, following weeks of negotiations with congressional leaders and holdouts within the Democratic Party. Biden campaigned for more spending for the Forest Service when he came to Sacramento a month ago and toured damage wrought by the Caldor Fire in El Dorado County. Although his overall spending plan is about half the size of his original $3.5 trillion proposal, it does appear to represent a substantial increase in the federal government’s commitment to the state’s troubled forests.

 

Prescribed fires planned for Klamath area BLM lands, Herald and News – From Nov. 1 through January 31, 2022, the Bureau of Land Management’s, Klamath Falls Field Office will begin fall prescribed burning. Prescribed fire activities will focus on burning 400 acres of hand and machine piles in the Bryant Mountain area, about three miles east of Malin. About 40 acres of hand piles will be burned in the Stukel area, about five miles southeast of Klamath Falls. Conditions are evaluated each day to determine if ignition will take place. Precipitation, wind, temperature, fuel moisture, and staffing all play a part in when and whether ignition occurs. Firefighters monitor the area after burning is complete. Fire spread from pile footprints occurs and can often be anticipated within the treatment area.