08/31/07 Judge upholds wildlife refuge grazing restrictions

Washington Ag August 31, 2007 Cattlemen were both surprised and disappointed by a recent U.S. District Court ruling which blocked an effort to reopen much of the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge to cattle grazing. U.S. District Court Judge Edward Shea of the Tri-Cities said the process the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service used to restrict grazing in the Little Pend Oreille in northeast Washington was appropriate. Jack Field, executive vice president of the Washington Cattlemen's Association says the ruling effectively eliminates all levels of managed livestock grazing at this time. Field: "Currently the Washington Cattlemen's Association is in the process of trying to restart the dialogue with the Fish and Game Service and open up communications again to see if there is a way we can begin or start a new phase and try and get some livestock grazing back out on the refuge through monitoring and other practices as well." Field says they are concerned about this becoming a precedent elsewhere around the country. Unlike the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, which manage for multiple uses, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages primarily for wildlife. I'm Bob Hoff.