08/15/06 Judge halts part of grazing regs

A judge in Boise has stopped the federal government from excluding public input on new grazing regulations. US District Judge Lynn Winmill responded to a pair of lawsuits from environmentalists trying to stop new grazing regulations from going into effect this month. BLM spokesman Tom Gorey says Winmill's preliminary injunction only halts one part of the process, that's the issue of public participation. GOREY "But all of the rest of the provisions which include such things as providing shared title those have been unaffected and those will remain as part of our implementation." Gorey says the public had plenty to say about the new regulations which he believes will hold up to legal challenges. GOREY "We received more than 18 thousand comments after we proposed the rule, the new regulations in December, 2003 and we even considered comments that came in after the close of the public comment period." Federal officials say the first overhaul of grazing regulations since 1995 will make the system more efficient but environmental groups contend that ranchers get more water rights and more control over the land while the public is being cut out of the decision making process. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott