With the Idaho congressional delegation breathing
down his neck, Sawtooth National Forest Supervisor Bill LeVere
withdrew his controversial grazing rules, which were regarded as
the toughest in the nation.
In March, LeVere told
his district rangers to cancel ranchers’ permits if violation
warnings went unheeded. But after a roasting in Washington, D.C.,
from Idaho Reps. Helen Chenoweth and Mike Crapo, both Republicans,
LeVere opted to can his plan (HCN,
4/28/97).
“This is not about winning or losing,”
insisted LeVere. “This is about doing what’s best for the
resource.”
LeVere’s turnabout was a clear
victory for Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, the plan’s most vocal critic.
In April, Craig asked Regional Forester Dale Bosworth to withdraw
the grazing rules. Craig also tried unsuccessfully in May to kill
the rules by attaching an amendment to the flood relief
bill.
LeVere may have reversed himself to ensure
that he would be around to see the next grazing season. But when
asked if the forester’s job was in danger over the flap, Bosworth
was clear: “Not from me, and I’m his boss.”
LeVere is not entirely out of the frying pan:
This summer, the regional forester’s office will send a team to the
Sawtooth to review the forest’s rangeland
program.
* Shea
Andersen
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Forester retreats on grazing rules.
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