WWP and Jon Marvel

[Nemont]

I find it interesting that Mr. Marvel doesn't want to use the word "eradicate" when all his propaganda states that WWP wants to "end" public lands grazing, regardless of the impact to anyone other then WWP and it's wealthy benefactors. Politically correct speech doesn't change the fact that he wants cattle grazing to end regardless of the impacts associated with ending it. You supposed public lands ranchers pay more then $500 mil. annually in taxes? Bet they do.

Nemont

BLM loses grazing appeals

By ADELLA HARDING, Free Press Staff Writer

ELKO - Western Watersheds Project has won a stay against a new U.S. Bureau of Land Management plan for the Squaw Valley and Spanish Ranch grazing allotments.

According to Western Watersheds Project, the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Hearings and Appeals granted the stay against what the environmental organization calls a "convoluted scheme."

BLM's Elko field manager, Helen Hankins, said the stay is in place until an administrative law judge reviews the Western Watersheds appeal.

"This means ranchers will operate under existing plans and can't implement the new plan," said Hankins.

BLM also recently lost a Western Watersheds Project appeal in U.S. District Court over three other allotments in the Elko district, when Judge Howard McKibben orders BLM to prepare an environmental impact statement on grazing plans for the allotments.

Hankins said she wasn't surprised the environmental organization appealed the new plan for the Squaw Valley and Spanish Ranch allotment. The appeal goes to court in February.

"They have a certain agenda they are pursuing, and that is eradication of livestock on public lands," she said.

Jon Marvel, executive director of the Idaho-based environmental organization, said that "eradication" is too strong a word for the organization's agenda, but he believes public lands ranching is too costly for taxpayers.

"It costs us $500 million to sustain," he said, referring to the overall costs of administering the public lands in 11 Western states.

Marvel also said that in the case of Squaw Valley Ranch, which is owned by Barrick Goldstrike Mines Inc., he "sees no point in spending public funds to finance ranching as a hobby."

The Ellison family's Spanish Ranch also is part of the allotments that the stay covers.

Hankins said the new plan for the allotments and BLM approval followed review of both allotments, and Squaw Valley Ranch is proposing innovative ways to manage their huge allotment to enhance grazing and protect wildlife and the threatened Lahontan trout.

According to the Western Watersheds Project, the grazing proposal called for more than 100 miles of new fencing, mostly at taxpayer expense and for spraying large areas of sagebrush to increase forage.

"This court action will prevent a truly bad decision from going into effect," Katie Fite, Western Watershed's director of biodiversity, said in an announcement from Western Watershed on the stay.

"BLM never even considered significant reductions in livestock numbers, despite its own overwhelming evidence of the harms caused by current livestock grazing to streams, springs and the sagebrush uplands," Fite said.

She also said Administrative Law Judge James Heffernan "recognized that irreparable harm would occur to the environment if the massive amount of fencing and herbiciding were to go ahead."

Marvel said the new plan was supposed to include mitigation for Barrick Goldstrike's past heap leaching operations, but he said BLM's plan "would destroy and further fragment sagebrush habitats for the sole benefit of Barrick Goldstrike's cattle."

Barrick operates the Betze-Post open pit mine and the Meikle underground mine north of Carlin, but the company no longer does any heap leaching.

Barrick hired ranching consultant Gregg Simond three years ago to develop a plan for operating the ranch at a profit while improving biological resources, and Simond said in August that his plan is to "increase the diversity of the landscape."

He recently led a tour sponsored by Northeastern Nevada Stewardship Group to the ranch. The tour focused on watershed improvements, improving sage grouse habitat and grazing issues.

Simond said in August that he is applying experience from his years of managing the Deseret Land and Livestock operations in Utah to the Barrick ranch that covers roughly 300,000 acres northwest of Carlin.

Of that 300,000 acres, 200,000 acres are public land, and Simond became the consultant-manager for the ranch the first of this year.

Simond said Deseret Land and Livestock improved wildlife habitat, vegetation and grazing, as well boosting sage grouse numbers, and making a profit.

Marvel said his organization has worked with Simond in the past.

Regarding the other ruling on a Western Watersheds Project appeal, the court order covers the Owyhee, Sheep and Big Springs grazing allotments in Elko County.

The order states that BLM must prepare an EIS in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act "with respect to sensitive species (burrowing owls, raptors and sage grouse in the Sheep Allotment Complex and the Owyhee Allotment and sage grouse at the Big Springs Allotment.)"

The judge also orders the BLM to evaluate the impact of grazing in relation to the sensitive species, including impacts on springs, seeps and riparian areas, upland habitat and land-use plans.

"It is further ordered that the application for injunctive relief is denied with the exception that during the pendency of the review and preparation of the EIS, the BLM shall not permit grazing in excess of that which is currently authorized," the judge wrote.

Marvel said the allotments combined involve more than 1 million acres, and Western Watersheds accused BLM of failing to address the impacts of grazing on sensitive species on these allotments.

 

[Ithaca 37]

Once again, it sounds like Marvel is forcing the BLM to operate within the law. We should be thankful there are watchdog groups that monitor what gummint agencies are doing and blow the whistle when they try to get away with illegal activities.

 

[Ten Bears]

 

[Nemont]

Ithaca,
I have no problem at all with the BLM having to obey the law. Do you find it even a little disengenious that Marvel doesn't want to use the word "eradication" when discussing cattle grazing on public lands, when all the documentation out of WWP states that is their goal? He doesn't want his opponents to be able to define the fight as the rural communities against the WWP. When they use the word Eradicate it will frighten enough people to maybe stand up to him.

I really don't have an issue with him bidding on allotments and taking them out of production. I would say that those who hail him as a hero should be careful because the common folk that inhabit ranches and live in the rural areas only matter to Mr. Marvel if they are wealthy anti grazing zealots. He appears to hate anyone who must work the land for a living.

Nemont

 

[Ithaca 37]

Who knows? Maybe Marvel is trying to tone things down a little. Probably too late. He's a zealot, that's for sure, and zealots tend to not worry much about who gets in their way.

On the other hand, "He appears to hate anyone who must work the land for a living." I wouldn't say anyone "must" work the land for a living. They do it because they like that lifestyle and don't want to move somewhere else for a job. We don't owe them a living, anymore than we owe some auto industry worker in Detroit a guarentee they'll always be able to keep that job. Some people decide to pack up and move when economic opportunity doesn't present itself in the way they hope. I don't think ranchers should have a taxpayer subsidized lifestyle just because they want to live the same way their grandparents did.

 

[Nemont]

Good points.

Nemont

 

[1_pointer]

Just because a stay is granted does not mean that BLM is breaking the law. A stay is granted if the appellant can show that they will be 'harmed' if the proposed action is implemented. If the BLM is within the scope of their jurisdiction/land use plans the appeal can be overturned. I'd be interested to see if this goes litigation. I haven't seen too many WWP appeals going that far recently.