Western Watershed Issues
The Western Watershed Project group has stuck their non-productive noses into a worthwhile effort and sent it south. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back right after this with some comments.The Western Watershed Project is a group led by Jon Marvel with the sole intent to rid all public lands from cattle grazing. It's a personal issue with Mr. Marvel but he has convinced enough radical followers to join his not-so-merry band that they have become a real nuisance filing third party lawsuits. This time the WWP has hit a little closer to home. A grazing project near Ellensburg, Washington between a rancher, and several government agencies including the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife using a coordinated resource management plan was set up to monitor elk grazing after cattle grazing. The plan was part of an effort to keep the elk herd from damaging private lands. The process was stopped when the Western Watershed Project sued over damage to salmon habitat. Oops - there were no streams in this grazing area. Not a problem, the WWP kept filing suits until they found an infraction in a SEPA study that allowed a judge to rule in their favor. The grazing was stopped and all the monitoring and science that could have been - wasn't. What a waste. I believe the Western Watershed Project people are afraid of science. They would rather deal in propaganda and lawsuits - do not be fooled by this group, they do not care about what is good for the land or wildlife, it's only about their agenda. I'm Jeff Keane.
