08/11/06 Uncooperative conservation

Washington Ag August 11, 2006 Cooperative Conservation is a pie in the sky idea that will only work if there are federal regional and local managers that are willing and committed to it. That was the message Stevens County, Washington, Farm Bureau President Wes McCart delivered to a federal listening session on Cooperative Conservation in Spokane this week. As an example of where there was no cooperation, McCart pointed to the Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge, where the decision was made to halt cattle grazing. McCart: "We have asked citizens for years to be involved in the conservation of that area. To cooperate. We were denied any access, any meaningful commitment. So much so that we ended up filing a lawsuit to bring them to the table. This was done because they refused to even allow lead agency status to our county commissioners. So we had no local voice." McCart, who was just one of several speakers to address the Little Pend Oreille, also spoke of controlled burns being done on the refuge during a state-wide burn ban last year. McCart: "What they did, rather than allow grazing, they wanted to eliminate grazing based on an agenda, so they burnt a fire that was way too hot and it killed the trees. How is this conservation?" I'm Bob Hoff.