Friends of Idaho Watersheds Project

Thanks to Mark Salvo of American Lands Alliance (formerly the Western
Ancient Forest Campaign) for the following news release on yesterday's
10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision on the Farm Bureau and National
Cattlemen's Beef Association lawsuit against the BLM's Range Reform
Regulations of 1995.

The Senate has returned to Washington, D.C., and the Capitol grazing
gang are watching the grazing legislation very closely.  The BLM
permits rider will be difficult to defeat, the Craig (Smith) grazing bill less
so.  Watch your e-mail for updates from American Lands Alliance, GREEN,
National Wildlife Federation and others.

An article re. the Tenth Circuit's decision on a lawsuit brought by
public lands grazing interests against a host of Rangeland Reform '94
regulations follows:

U.S. Court issues mixed ruling on livestock grazing

DENVER (Reuters) - A U.S. Appeals Court Tuesday upheld federal
regulations that cattle and sheep ranchers argued would allow grazing
permits to be obtained by environmental groups, but overturned a rule
that would allow some of the lands to be put into conservation.

The mixed ruling by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals here was part of
a legal and legislative battle between ranchers in 11 Western states, and
the Clinton administration and environmental groups. At issue was
tighter regulation of grazing on millions of acres of federal lands.

The court upheld three regulations issued by the Interior Department in
1995 that allow grazing permits to be obtained by non-livestock
producers, redefine grazing preference rights and switch to the federal
government ownership title for future improvements, such as fences and
waterwells, made by ranchers using public lands.

The court, however, overturned another regulation that the ranchers
said would have allowed environmental groups to obtain permits to put some
of the lands into conservation uses.

The National Cattleman's Beef Association, the American Sheep Industry
Assocation, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Public
Lands Council sued in 1995 to overturn 10 new regulations.

A lower court judge in Wyoming ruled that the four regulations at issue
in Tuesday's ruling were invalid and the Interior Department had
appealed.

"The regulations on appeal were not being implemented (pending the
court's ruling), but we assume they now will go forward," said Karen
Crass of the Washington-based Public Lands Council, which represents
ranchers using federal lands.

There was no immediate comment on Tuesday's ruling from the council or
the federal government.
 

Mark N. Salvo
Grasslands Advocate
Public Lands Grazing Program
American Lands Alliance
1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 300
Washington, D.C.  20005
marksalvo@hotmail.com

"Ultimately, we are the endangered species...  Homo
sapiens are perceived to stand at the top of the pyramid
of life, but the pinnacle is a precarious station.  We
need a large measure of self-consciousness to constantly
remind us of the commanding role we enjoy only at the
favor of the web of life that sustains us..."
     Sen. Leahy in The Sinking Ark 1979