| Livestock Trailing on BLM Managed Lands (June 1, 2012) In a letter to Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, the Public Lands Council, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Sheep Industry Association, Association of National Grasslands and state affiliates expressed their concerns regarding the time-sensitive issue of crossing and trailing of livestock on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed lands. The groups stressed their belief that the action of crossing and trailing livestock across federal lands should be treated by BLM as an administrative action. The active crossing and trailing of livestock has minimal impact on the range and should not be subject to National Environmental Policy Act analysis. Terms and conditions of grazing permits require that livestock be turned out and removed on specific dates to avoid noncompliance with the permits. At the same time, the BLM is proposing to perform in-depth environmental analysis that will likely delay or even deny a producer’s ability to trail livestock across BLM lands-thereby making compliance with permit terms nearly impossible. |
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