Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Permit Renewal Withdrawn

Grazing permits renewed without adequate studies
Contact: Albuquerque Journal

The Gila National Forest has withdrawn a decision to renew two grazing permits after environmental groups protested it didn’t do enough to consider the impacts on endangered wolves.

Reserve District Ranger Rogers Steed said Tuesday he intends to rewrite the decisions to add more explanation. But he said he would reissue them early next year and still would renew the permits.

“There’s nothing wrong with either of those decisions,” he said, adding that a biological assessment was done to consider how the reintroduced Mexican gray wolves in the area would be affected by continued grazing.

But WildEarth Guardians and The Rewilding Institute criticized the Forest Service for using a “categorical exclusion” that sidesteps the usual National Environmental Policy Act requirements for an environmental review and public involvement.

“We’ll continue to fight this,” said Nicole Rosmarino, conservation director for WildEarth Guardians.

Copyright 2006 Albuquerque Journal – Reprinted with permission