After intensive negotiations, environmentalists,
ranchers and the Forest Service settled a lawsuit over cattle
grazing on Montana’s Beaverhead National Forest. But compared to an
earlier agreement, ranchers gained the upper hand. The dispute
began when the National Wildlife Federation sued the Forest Service
for failing to assess grazing impacts on the forest, streams and
wildlife as required by federal law (HCN, 5/15/95). The first
proposed settlement gave the agency 10 years to analyze some 130
expiring permits. But ranchers objected to the agreement’s hammer:
If the Forest Service failed to stick to the timetable, it could
not reissue ranchers’ permits, and the cows would have to vacate
allotments until the work was done. The new settlement requires the
agency to reissue permits whether or not environmental analyses are
completed. “We would have preferred the earlier agreement because
it would have put the burden on the Forest Service to get the job
done on time,” says National Wildlife Federation attorney Tom
France. “Now the burden is on us to push the Forest Service.”
France says he understood why ranchers didn’t want to be at the
Forest Service’s mercy, but he criticized their attitude at the
negotiating table. “The livestock industry continues to view us as
completely unreasonable,” he says. “They fought us every step of
the way. We certainly didn’t come through this process as
partners.” – Paul
Larmer
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Grazing settlement favors ranchers.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
