Dept of Interior Annouces New Grazing Rules

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is making regulatory changes aimed at improving the Bureau's management of public lands grazing in the rural West.

More specifically, the regulation revisions are intended to improve the BLM's working relationship with public land ranchers, to conserve rangeland resources, and to address legal issues while enhancing administrative efficiency.

BLM states that the changes also underscore grazing's standing as one of the legitimate uses of BLM-managed lands. BLM undertook this regulatory initiative in recognition of the economic and social benefits of public lands grazing, as well as the role of ranching in preserving open space and wildlife habitat in the rapidly growing West.

The new provisions highlight three categories of management actions.
    · Improving working relationships with grazing permittees and lessees.
          o BLM and a grazing permittee will share title to future range improvements if constructed under a
             Cooperative Range Improvement Agreement as was allowed prior to 1995.
         o Phase in grazing increases and decreases of more than 10 percent over a five-year period.
         o Promote a consistent approach by BLM managers in considering and documenting the social, cultural,
             and economic effects of decisions that determine levels of authorized grazing use.
         o Require BLM, in reviewing range improvements and grazing allotment management plan, to cooperate
            with grazing boards.

· Assessing and Protecting Rangelands.
        o Remove the current restriction that limits temporary non-use of a grazing permit to three consecutive
           years.
        o Require use of monitoring data in cases where the BLM has found, based on its initial assessment that a
            grazing allotment is failing to meet rangeland health standards.
        o Allow up to 24 months - instead of prior to the start of the next grazing season - for the BLM to analyze
           and formulate an appropriate course of action in cases where grazing practices are at issue.

· Addressing legal issues while enhancing administrative efficiency.
        o Eliminate existing regulatory provisions that allow the BLM to issue long-term "conservation use"
           permits.
       o Expand the definition of "grazing preference" to include an amount of forage on public lands that is linked
          to a rancher's private "base" property, which can be land or water.
       o Modify the definition of "interested public" to cover only those individuals and organizations that actually
          participate in the process leading to specific grazing decisions.
       o Provide flexibility to the Federal government indecisions relating to livestock water rights by removing the
          current requirement that the BLM seek ownership of these rights to the maximum extent allowed by state
          law.

Increase certain service fees to reflect more accurately the cost of grazing administration (crossing permits, transfer of grazing preferences, cancellation and replacement of grazing fee bills, etc.).
Clarify that if a grazing permittee is convicted of violating Federal or state environmental or livestock laws and regulations, and if the violation occurs while the livestock operator is engaged in grazing-related activities, the BLM may take action against his grazing permit only if the violation occurred on the BLM-managed allotment where the operator is authorized to graze.
Clarify how the BLM will authorize grazing if implementation of a Bureau decision affecting a grazing permit is “stayed” pending administrative appeal.
Clarify that a biological assessment of the BLM, prepared in compliance with the Endangered Species Act, is not a decision of the Bureau and therefore is not subject to protest and appeal.

New regulations will make no changes in rangeland health standards and guidelines that were developed by the BLM’s Resource Advisory Councils under the “Rangeland Reform 94” rules and will not affect the existing Resource Advisory Council system, in which the BLM receives advice and recommendations from 24 citizen-based Resource Advisory Councils across the West. Also, the new regulations make no changes in the way the Federal grazing fee is calculated.

Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly

Still Target For Endangered Species List

Memorial Day weekend was a record breaker for the Sand Mountain Recreation Area. According to the Bureau of Land Management, an estimated 8,000 visitors recreated in the area inhabited by the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly.

There is concern by some that the use of Sand Mountain will deplete the Kearney Buckwheat, habitat of the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly, and cause the butterflies extinction.

A petition to list the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly as an endangered species has been submitted to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USF&WS) and is awaiting action.

If the butterfly is listed as an endangered species, Sand Mountain is in jeopardy of some degree of closure. Such a closure would have a great economical impact on the ranchers that utilize the allotments in the Sand Mountain area as well as on the business communities of Fallon and Fernley.

Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance is coordinating the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly Working Group that is developing a conservation plan that will help to improve the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly habitat, preserve the butterfly, prevent the listing of the butterfly, and enable multiple use to continue on Sand Mountain.

The working group has identified several conservation strategies including a designated route system, increased fencing and signage, a fencing and signage maintenance program, an education program, increased law enforcement, closure of shrub habitat to livestock, and a Kearney Buckwheat seedling program.

Late summer of this year is targeted for the completion of the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly Conservation Plan.