Today, the Office of Hearings and Appeals ruled in Western Watersheds Project’s favor over grazing at the Yankee Jim Area of Critical Environmental Concern for the second time in 2 months.Judge Sweitzer ruled that a BLM Alturas Field Office May 14, 2008 grazing agreement be set aside for failing to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The Yankee Jim Ranch is a small allotment consisting of only 1,500 acres but the entire site was designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) in April 2008, a fact that BLM had ignored when it issued its decision in May.The Yankee Jim ACEC was designated due to the presence of numerous important archeological sites, including over 90 pre-historic sites in the meadow and upland areas, and important historical connections. According to the BLM’s own reports, cattle have been trampling, trailing and dispersing artifacts, pawing and digging, and even wallowing on the archeological sites and these disturbances have escalated in recent years. Despite this, the BLM had proposed to permit livestock grazing on the allotment without even the most basic environmental analysis.

The allotment is also important wildlife habitat for sage grouse, sandhill cranes, waterfowl, and one of the largest pronghorn herds in California.It includes unique riparian habitats including the only “fen” found in the BLM’s Alturas Resource Area.