Posted March 12, 2014
The Nevada Cattlemen’s Association recently urged its
members to deny state Department of Wildlife employees access to private land
in an effort to protest the agency’s proposals on protecting the sage grouse,
according to an Associated Press article available here.
The wildlife agency “supports proposals favored by the
U.S. Bureau of Land Management that would financially harm many ranchers”
according to a statement by the Cattlemen’s Association.
Federal officials “are preparing a strategy to avoid
the sage grouse’s listing as an endangered or threatened species,” given the
economic consequences for ranching, mining and alternative energy development.
Wildlife department spokesman, Chris Healy, said that
the controversy is a result of a “big misunderstanding that can be fixed by
continued dialogue.”
“We have already scheduled a meeting with the board of
the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association to explain our position and to remind them
of our very good record of cooperation over major issues over the years,” Healy
said.
Conservationists, on the other hand, are concerned that
scientific opinions are being set aside.
Experts say 2 million sage grouse inhabited the West around 1805,
while today, their number are estimated at about 200,000.
Some urge a solution that works for the benefit of all
groups, according to a USA Today article available here. The plan preferred by the Bureau of Land
Management and the U.S. Forest Service would exclude or restrict new
recreational facilities, wind and solar energy development and mineral
development in sage grouse habitat.
For more information on environmental law, please visit
the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
