ELKO - More than 75 organizations, including some that receive federal funding, have endorsed a plan to end livestock grazing on federal lands in the West.
The plan was unveiled last fall by National Public Lands Grazing Campaign and would involve purchasing grazing permits from ranchers, then permanently retiring the permits.
Special legislation would be needed in order for the group to accomplish its goal. Meanwhile, letters have been mailed to the approximately 25,000 grazing permittees to introduce them to the buyout proposal and ask for their support.
"Some ranchers have already voluntarily relinquished their grazing permits to the government in exchange for compensation from third parties, and we believe many more would sell their permit interest to the government and retire the associated allotments from grazing," NPLGC reports on its Web site, www.publiclandsranching.org.
Mark Salvo, attorney for the group, also works for American Lands Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based group that has threatened to petition for listing of the sage grouse as a federally protected species.
At a RangeNet conference last fall, Salvo told the audience grazing takes place on 270 million acres of federal land, which is "a significant land area." But he said the number of ranchers using the land is "insignificant" and contributes less than a tenth of one percent to employment in the West.
American Lands is one of the endorsers, along with Western Watersheds Project (Idaho), Alliance for the Wild Rockies (Montana), Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (Oregon), Humane Society of the United States (Washington, D.C.), Wild Utah Project (Utah), The Wildlands Project (Vermont) and 70 other groups.
An article by Salvo and Andy Kerr of The Larch Company says, "Domestic livestock grazing (mostly beef cattle) have done more damage to North America than the bulldozer and chainsaw combined. Not only have livestock been degrading the landscape longer than developers, miners, and loggers, they have grazed nearly everywhere. Yet, the conservation movement has paid scant attention to this issue, even on federal public lands where livestock mow through 257 million acres annually."
Buying out the grazing permits would be cheaper for taxpayers than allowing grazing to continue, they say.
Others on the group's steering committee are Katie Fite of the Committee for Idaho's High Desert, John Horning of Forest Guardians, Bill Marlett of Oregon Natural Desert Association, Jon Marvel of Western Watersheds Project, Randi Spivak of American Lands Alliance and Martin Taylor of the Center for Biological Diversity.
Some of the groups endorsing the plan have received federal funding. These include California Trout, based in San Francisco; Land and Water Fund of the Rockies; and World Wildlife Fund.
NPLGC is preparing to publish a book titled "Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West," due out this summer.
NV Cattle Rustling: An Eyewitness Report
By The Nevada Livestock Association
Published Sept. 23, 2002 at 17:42 Sierra Times
Cresent Valley, NV - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) attacked the Dann Sisters from Crescent Valley, Nevada early Sunday morning September 22, 2002 in the Pine Valley area of Eureka County. They impounded an unknown amount of cattle (BLM estimates of 200 head), with the help of Greg Cook of Vernal, Utah, and his hired rustlers as well as from 50 to 100 BLM and federal personnel. Helicopters and surveillance airplanes roamed the skies. The BLM deployed and established a lock down of a great portion of Eureka county with armed quasi-militarized BLM enforcement officers as well as other federal agents. All access by roads, including the road from Carlin, Nevada and county access roads were blocked by BLM with assistance, on state highways, from the Nevada Highway Patrol.
BLM set up the evening before the attack in Pine Valley. A large base camp with helipad, command post trailers, up to 100 personnel, the majority of which were armed. Various types of weaponry, camouflage, military paraphernalia, night vision scopes, flack vests, as well a some special operations type personnel. Manned four-wheel drive pickups and special camo-green ATV’s were deployed through out the area.
Members of the Western Shoshone Nation and their supporters had been forewarned by an anonymous caller of the attack and were in the mountains to peacefully protect the cattle and document developments, none were armed. In the early morning darkness they were surrounded by BLM rangers with sidearms. They were instructed to immediately vacate the area. When they questioned why, “We were told the BLM was conducting an unidentified operation and that we needed to leave, immediately. We told them we were here to document the actions of the BLM and that we were not blocking the road and not threatening them in any way. We were not armed,” said Christopher Sowall of the Western Shoshone Defense Project. They told us we will give you one more warning then we will arrest you. They had night vision scopes. They escorted us out with rangers in front and back who prevented us from stopping, telling us to keep moving until we reached the perimeter they had established,” said Sowall. Others in area met a similar fate.
The Nevada Live Stock Association (NVLSA) Chairman David Holmgren, his family and other members supporting the Dann Sisters of Crescent Valley, helped remove some cattle to safety. “All of the cattle were in excellent condition with big calves and lots of milk,” said Holmgren. The BLM statement that ‘it’s just weeds and dirt out there’ as reported in the Reno Gazette, is totally false. I want all real ranchers to know that. We friendly cowboys used a leased helicopter ourselves this morning (Sept. 23, 2002) to site more cattle and we are bringing them in before the BLM rustlers get them. We also monitored the BLM,” said Holmgren.
Other ranchers in the area were also upset with the gather as their cattle were gathered with the Danns.
“The Nevada Brand Department was in full force, as were Boss Abbey (Nevada BLM State Director) who led the operation and his BLM press correspondent JoLynn Worley, both sporting big cowboy hats,” said David Holmgren. Holmgren noted that the Nevada Live Stock Association is the only cattlemen’s association who is supporting ranchers in Nevada who are having their cattle impounded and sold without a court order or due process of law, as well as a phony brand inspection certificate where ownership can be transferred without the real owner’s signature.
Eureka County Sheriff Ken Jones was informed of the situation by Holmgren and that Holmgren and others were being confronted by armed rangers and that the Danns’ and county roads were closed. A Eureka County sergeant was dispatched to the area. A party including Holmgren, were then allowed to proceed. BLM insisted on an armed escort in pickups and ATV’s to the impoundment area. They would be arrested if they left the county road or stepped foot off of it. The last of the cattle were being loaded on Cook leased or owned semi trucks when they arrived at the corrals. Other ranchers who rode up to the corral were stopped and not allowed to get in the corral, “they were kept at a distance,” They told us to move on but Carrie (Dann) refused, then Boss Abbey (BLM) said that they had control of the public lands and we weren’t to step off of the road,” said Holmgren.
“Remember this is just the beginning, eventually anyone could have their cattle impounded and sold for breaking a BLM rule or regulation,” said Holmgren.
The cattle were to be taken to the BLM Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro facility as live stock auctions will not accept them.
Holmgren and his family as well as others from the Nevada Live Stock Association and the Shoshone are still out gathering cattle today. More NVLSA dispatches from the battle front will be forth coming.
"Dear insignificant Person, please take our chump change and your pitiful 'way of life' and your grubby babies and hagged-out old women and get the hell off our public paradise. Thank you and drop dead, The Left."
One thing I hate about environmentalist is how they are hellbent upon destroying other people’s livelihood.
They can’t deal with the fact that the earth is filled with humans. If theses people can’t deal with that they should remove themselves from the earth instead of trying to remove others.
Normal folks call this BRIBERY.
Third parties gets the mess off of Pilate's hands.
