By Jason Chaney
Crook County ranchers are likely breathing a sigh of relief after a recent court ruling lifted a grazing ban on Grant County forestland.
The ban in question stemmed from a 2008 injunction in Kimbell v. ONDA, an ongoing case that began in 2003, challenging appropriate grazing levels in Malheur National Forest. ONDA (Oregon National Desert Association) - a Bend-based environmental group - contends that the Forest Service in that area has failed to limit grazing near forest waterways, threatening the steelhead fish population. Consequently, the 2008 injunction banned grazing on two allotments in the Malheur National Forest.
However, a new ruling last week restored grazing to the area. According to that ruling, ONDA failed to show that all grazing must cease on the two allotments.
While Crook County ranches border Ochoco National Forest and not Malheur, the ranchers' defense attorney Elizabeth Howard feels that decisions in the case could impact ranchers throughout the west. In this case, the latest ruling has a positive impact on ranchers.
"It's precedent-setting because it's an Endangered Species Act (ESA) case where the judge determined grazing would not harm threatened steelhead," she said. However, she went on to say that a decision that upheld the grazing ban or restricted grazing even further would have set a precedent as well.
"That would have created a ruling they could have replicated in other forests," Howard said.
Greg Bedortha - who owns a ranch east of Paulina and has a grazing permit with Ochoco National Forest - shares similar concerns.
"From my standpoint, it's nice to see they ruled in favor of the ranchers," he said. "If they had (kept the ban) it'd be another nail in the lid of the coffin. We would be going the way of the timber industry."
ONDA executive director Brent Fenty, on the other hand, feels the case would not impact ranches' grazing rights in other forests.
"This is not a case that is a precedent-setting case," he said. "The case is specific to some data collected about overgrazing in (the Malheur National Forest) area."
While the decisions in this case could impact ranchers' livelihood, the forest environment could be affected as well.
"Plant families of grass are biologically adapted to grazing," said Ochoco and Deschutes Forest Range Program Lead Steve Gibson. "A certain level of grazing is necessary for continuation, for maintaining the plants' vigor and health. If that disturbance factor was removed, then you could end up with declining plant communities in certain areas."
Although restricting or banning grazing could be detrimental, so too is allowing too much grazing.
"If grazing levels are too high, you can impact the vegetation," Gibson said. "You can impact shade, which in turn impacts water temperature, which in turn impacts fish."
It is this side-effect of overgrazing that ONDA is fighting against. According to Fenty, "the case is about ensuring that the Forest Service upholds its own rules and regulations" regarding grazing guidelines in Malheur National Forest.
According to Oregon Federal District Court Judge Ancer Haggerty in his most recent ruling that lifted the grazing ban, the Forest Service has failed to adhere to those guidelines in past years.
"Due to the Forest Service's repeated failures to carry out planned mitigation and monitoring measures on the Malheur National Forest, this court finds it prudent to enter an order ensuring the implementation of the Forest Service's proposals," Haggerty said in the ruling. "Accordingly, a limited preliminary injunction is appropriate."
If the Forest Service fails to follow through with their guidelines, grazing could still end up restricted.
"If adequate mitigation and monitoring do not occur," Haggerty said, "the court may end the grazing season early with a full injunction."
Bedortha similarly holds the Forest Service responsible for the Malheur grazing limitations.
"The Forest Service has dropped the ball before and I think that's what happened in Malheur," he said. "They weren't monitoring it the way they needed to."
Not only do Bedortha and the ONDA blame the Forest Service for neglecting to monitor grazing in Malheur, they both agree that the newest ruling is a positive step forward in the process.
While Bedortha believes ranchers gain from lifting the grazing ban, the ONDA believes this might be a step toward more appropriate grazing levels.
"We asked for more," Fenty said, "but even though we didn't get what we wanted, it's a step in the right direction." |
