BLM

Earlier this month, Governor Jay Inslee vetoed a variety of bills in an effort to save funds because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. One of the pieces of legislation lost in that move was House Bill 2579. The bill, authored by Representative May Dye would have provided funding for a feasibility study to allow inmates at Coyote Ridge Correction Center in Connell to train wild horses ... Read

The Bureau of Land Management has announced plans to fund 11,000 miles of strategic fuel breaks in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California, Nevada and Utah in an effort to help control wildfires.  According to the Oregonian, the fuel breaks are intended to prop up fire mitigation efforts and help protect firefighters, communities and natural resources.  Ac...

Late last week, the Bureau of Land Management announced it is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement on new grazing regulations.  The Bureau’s Notice of Intent will appear in the Federal Register on Tuesday.   The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Federal Lands Committee and the PLC’s Grazing Regulations Working Group both call this a “once-in-a-generation opportunity for BLM permittees

Federal officials have released a final plan for five open-pit phosphate mines and reclamation work in eastern Idaho proposed by J.R. Simplot Company.  Late last week, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service released the jointly-prepared final environmental impact statement for the Dairy Syncline Mine Project about 14 miles east of Soda Springs.  Th...

Last week, a federal judge allowed Dwight and Steven Hammonds partial grazing rights in Eastern Oregon, a decision that has many in the livestock industry concerned.  The judge in Portland issued a 58-page ruling July 16th, granting a partial preliminary injunction as environmental advocacy groups continue to challenge Hammond Ranches ten-year federal grazing permit.  Th...

The federal government is reducing charges for federal grazing in 2019.  The federal grazing fee for 2019 will drop to $1.35 per animal unit-month for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and $1.35 per head-month for lands managed by the USDA Forest Service.   ...

A federal judge has halted the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s plans to remove the ovaries of wild horses to stop them from propagating in Oregon.  According to the Oregonian horses from the Warm Springs Herd Management Area cannot be sterilized with the procedure until the outcome of a court case brought by animal rights groups.  Last wee...

Conservation groups claim the Bureau of Land Management broke the law when it approved eight large oil and gas lease sales in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.  In response a suit was filed Monday in federal court.  The suit came after the BLM relaxed protections for greater sage grouse habitat.  Laird L...

The Federal grazing fees for 2018 have been released.  Ranchers will be charged $1.41 per animal unit month (AUM) for public lands administered by the BLM, and $1.41 per head month (HM) for lands managed by the Forest Service.  The 2017 public land grazing fee was $1.87.  An A...

On Monday, President Trump signed a congressional resolution directing the Bureau of Land Management to repeal their Planning 2.0 Rule. The resolution was supported by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the American Farm Bureau, and others...