Page 12A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Saturday, February 13, 2016
LAND: Summer grazing can put stress on native grasses
Working together
Continued from 1A
Closer to home, the Umatilla
and Wallowa-Whitman national
forests have just shy of 2 million
acres of rangeland deemed suitable
for grazing. Those forests are also in
the midst of 15-year updates to their
respective land management plans.
Maura Laverty, range program
manager for the two forests, said
they have 135 active grazing
allotments. She said they have good
relationships with their permittees
that have helped them come a long
way in managing the land respon-
sibly.
“We don’t graze like we use to,”
she said. “We’re a lot more consci-
entious now.”
AP Photo/Rebecca Boone
Currently, the forests are working
A sign warns visitors that this portion of the Malheur National
Wildlife refuge outside of Burns is closed to the public Friday.
on environmental reviews for each
allotment, which they hope to
like the Soda Fire that spilled over stocking rates, Bentz said they ¿QLVKE\7KH\PXVWWDNHLQWR
face another lawsuit. He blamed DFFRXQW HQGDQJHUHG ¿VK RQ HDFK
into Oregon from Idaho last year.
The occupation of the wildlife the Equal Access to Justice Act, site, as well as wolves which are
refuge was unfortunate, Mackenzie which compensates attorney fees becoming increasingly established
said, but the militants’ message of if groups can prove their litigation in the northeast corner of the state.
LVMXVWL¿HG
local control resonates strongly.
Karl Jensen, a Pilot Rock
³7KH\KDYHWR¿QGDZD\WRJHW rancher, runs about 80 of his 300
“We need the control of natural
resources management back at ÀH[LELOLW\EDFNLQWRPDQDJHPHQW´ head of cattle on the Umatilla forest
the local level,” he said. “Let Bentz said. “The land continues near Ukiah. He said the biggest
local people have a say in what to deteriorate because the land challenge he’s faced is fencing off
goes on in their communities and PDQDJHUVGRQ¶WKDYHWKHÀH[LELOLW\ his cows away from nearby Five
to manage it properly.”
counties.”
Mile Creek and Sugarbowl Creek,
Local control
George Wuerthner, Oregon which are home to endangered bull
Ferguson did say the BLM is
The problem, according to trying to be more proactive with state director for the Western trout and salmon.
Mark Mackenzie, is not with local ¿JKWLQJ UDQJHODQG ¿UHV LQ WKH Watersheds Project, said most
Jensen said the Forest Service
rangeland managers like Ferguson. West. Oregon, Idaho and Nevada environmental groups don’t actu- has been great to work with in both
Rather, it’s mismanagement and are collaborating on a program ally have a lot of money to spend Heppner and Ukiah.
political pressure up the chain of creating strategic fuel breaks on lawsuits, and therefore only
“There’s always regulations that
ZKHUH ¿UH¿JKWHUV FDQ VDIHO\ ¿JKW the most egregious violations are come down from higher up,” he
command.
Mackenzie, who runs 900 head ¿UHV EHIRUH WKH\ JHW WRR ELJ DQG challenged in court. Just as many said. “We’re able to work those out
others are left ignored, he said.
of cattle south of Jordan Valley, destructive.
and come up with a good manage-
Wuerthner, who previously ment plan.”
“The whole goal is to reduce
is largely dependent on federal
worked with the BLM as a bota-
AUMs. But with so many layers WKHVL]HRIWKHVH¿UHV´KHVDLG
O’Keeffe, president of the
nist in Idaho, said many public cattlemen’s association, said good
of new protections, he said local No flexibility
lands are negatively impacted rangeland management must
land management is becoming
Andy Bentz, a former Malheur by domestic livestock. Water is include adequate grazing and a
cumbersome. And when a change
is needed on the range, he said County sheriff and owner of Bentz limited in the desert country of stable supply of forage. Funding and
the agency will likely be taken to Solutions in Ontario, agrees the southeast Oregon, yet cattle grav- workload remain huge challenges
%/0 GRHVQ¶W KDYH HQRXJK ÀH[L- itate toward springs and streams, for the BLM, The whole issue has
court.
“It’s all driven by special bility to do proper management. harming the ecosystem for other him on edge.
interest groups,” Mackenzie said. He pointed to lawsuits from DQLPDOVDQG¿VK
“So far, we’re here and ranching.
Summer grazing can also put But the potential is there for it to no
“We’ve let the management of environmental groups as what’s
stress on native grasses and allow longer be workable,” he said. “If
these resources become comman- hobbling the agency.
“Yelling at the BLM is like invasive species like cheat grass to that happens, these communities
deered by the courts.”
0DFNHQ]LH ¿JXUHV JUD]LQJ KDV \HOOLQJ DW D ¿UHPDQ ZKHQ \RXU take over, Wuerthner said.
ZLOOEHWURXEOH7KHVH¿UHVZLOOEH
“That’s one of the things uncontrollable. It’s kind of a cumu-
fallen by about 40 percent since KRXVHLVRQ¿UH´%HQW]VDLG³7KH\
1960 in the Vale District. Those can’t make on-the-ground annual squeezing ranchers, in fact,” he lative effect.”
losses create an economic ripple in changes, because it opens them up said.
Ferguson said there are areas
Wuerthner said the BLM they’d like to improve, but it’s not
small towns like Jordan Valley — to challenges and litigation.”
Bentz, whose family has actually depends on some of going to happen overnight.
population 180 — that threatens
ranched in southeast Oregon since these lawsuits to ensure they are
their very existence.
“It’s a slow process,” he said.
Grazing is also a management 1916, said there is enough local following the laws passed by “We do the best we can.”
tool itself, Mackenzie said. expertise to manage the lands &RQJUHVV DQG QRW RYHUO\ LQÀX-
———
Without grazing, grasses can for multiple use. But when the enced by local pressure.
Contact George Plaven at
“They’re keeping the agencies gplaven@eastoregonian.com
become overgrown and increase agency tries to adapt to Mother
or
WKHIXHOORDGIRUODUJHZLOG¿UHV² Nature, adjusting seasons or honest,” he said.
541-966-0825.
conditions.
It’s around this time of year
when Ferguson said he meets with
ranchers to set grazing schedules
and add up fees for the coming
season. The BLM uses what are
known as animal unit months, or
AUMs, to determine its grazing
fees. AUMs are measured by the
amount of forage animals need for
one month, and Ferguson said the
limits are very strict.
“You can’t authorize more
AUMs without (environmental)
analysis,” he said.
The BLM recently adjusted
its fees to $2.11 per AUM. The
Forest Service, which is under
the Department of Agriculture as
opposed to the Department of the
Interior, charges $1.69 per month
per cow-calf pair.
Ranchers must also follow
VSHFL¿F FRQGLWLRQV ODLG RXW LQ
their permits, which might include
rotating pastures, maintaining
fences and protecting vegetative
cover for sensitive species like
sage grouse.
“Orderly management of the
range is our goal,” Ferguson said.
Presidential
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for minority
voters in S.C.
DENMARK, S.C. (AP) —
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into a tug-of-war over President
Barack Obama’s legacy Friday as
Democratic presidential hopefuls
looked for an edge in South
Carolina. Republicans, meanwhile,
crisscrossed the state in search of
a path out of Donald Trump’s long
shadow.
Hillary Clinton stepped up
her hammering of rival Bernie
Sanders for what she said are his
false claims on Obama’s legacy.
Prominent black leaders echoed
the theme — an effort to use the
¿UVW $IULFDQ$PHULFDQ SUHVLGHQW
as a wedge between Sanders and
black voters.
“He has called the president
weak, a disappointment,” Clinton
said of Sanders at a town hall
Friday. “He does not support, the
way I do, building on the progress
the president has made.”
Coming off a bruising rout
in New Hampshire, the former
VHFUHWDU\RIVWDWHKRSHVWKH¿UVWLQ
the-south primary will showcase
her strength with at least one
core segment of the Democratic
coalition. A Democrat cannot win
the nomination, much less the
:KLWH +RXVH ZLWKRXW VLJQL¿FDQW
backing and enthusiasm from black
communities.
For Republicans, South Carolina
is another chance to emerge as the
viable alternative to the billionaire
reality-TV star who snatched the
race away from the GOP estab-
lishment. Although Trump appears
to have a solid lead in the polls
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hoping to peel off support from the
ODUJH DQG LQÀXHQWLDO HYDQJHOLFDO
community.
As his rivals hustled through
rare snowfall Friday, Trump
showed he won’t make it easy. He
was able to steal the spotlight with
a Twitter threat to sue his closest
competitor.
“If @TedCruz doesn’t clean
up his act, stop cheating, & doing
negative ads, I have standing to sue
him for not being a natural born
citizen,” Trump wrote.
Another tweet questioned
Cruz’s faith: “How can Ted Cruz be
an evangelical Christian when he
lies so much and is so dishonest?”
Love Notes
Ron,
Your smile makes
my day. Your kiss
makes my week.
Your love makes
my life complete.
I love you Baby.
Stacy
50 down.
80 to go.
I love you.
To: ML
Thank you for
always being there
for me babe.
From: NT
To Mom & Chuck,
Lots of Love
Carrie
My Dear Sweeet Sally,
As the years go along
we just get closer
together. We are as
one now.
Love to you forever.
JHD
Addison Jones Kosey:
Happy Valentine’s
Day.
Love Papa, Mega,
and Dad.
John Morris,
In you I ’ ve
found the love
of my life
and my closest
truest friend.
Kelly Chinen
Love me,
love my
dog!!
I l o ve
J o hn !
After
50 years
I will keep
loving you
forever.
John.
Jason,
Thanks for getting through
20+ great years with me.
Looking forward to
many more!
With all my love,
Tammi
To my Hubby Rick,
Happy Valentine’s Day to the man of my dreams. It’s
been 17 years of ups and downs and our love keeps
getting stronger. I love you to infinity and back plus 1.
Your wife Dana
LD, my riding
buddy and the
wind beneath
my wings!
I thank God
for the gift of
your love!
KD
