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Livestock Grazing Across Northern Utah: Executive Director Laird Lucas has been working with Dr. John Carter and Western Watersheds Project (WWP) for over two years, on a major case challenging BLM's management of livestock grazing on about 1.5 million acres of public lands across northern Utah. This case targets dozens of new grazing permits issued by BLM in 2001, without preparing any comprehensive analysis of grazing impacts and ignoring scientific data submitted by WWP showing extensive livestock damage to streams, wildlife habitat, sensitive soils and other resource values. The case was filed in 2001 (First Amended Complaint) (pdf) and WWP submitted a lengthy summary judgment brief in 2002. Right now, the parties are close to a settlement, which will require BLM to prepare a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement over several years, using current science showing livestock impacts; and to protect sensitive streams in the interim. "Advocates for the West" is also working with WWP and Dr. Carter to develop additional challenges to grazing plans on numerous Forest Service and BLM allotments, including Duck Creek. We are currently set for a trial in March 2005 over BLM plans to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to continue propping up livestock grazing operations that have severely degraded the stream and riparian area; and we expect similar cases to follow. |
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