Monday, October 20, 2008


Dorgan critical of Forest Service official's plan Senator Byron Dorgan says a Forest Service official appears to be violating an agreement on how a badlands ranch should be managed. Dorgan accuses Dakota Prairie Grasslands supervisor Dave Pieper of acting like a "one-man band," and he's asked Pieper's boss, Interior Undersecretary Mark Rey, to intervene. At issue is a proposed 22,000-acre grass bank on the former Eberts ranch near where Theodore Roosevelt once ran cattle. Pieper says the grass bank proposal would be a first for the state and would be open to members of the Medora Grazing Association. Dorgan says the agreement when the ranch was purchased was for the association to allocate leases as it has traditionally done. He says the grass bank would violate that agreement....Under a grass bank, the land would be held in reserve and only grazed when needed. Grazing permits would only be issued for a season at the sole discretion of the Forest Service. In a traditional grazing model, 10 year permits would be issued, range improvements could be constructed, etc. Now, if your goal was to eliminate grazing over time, which model would you pick?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The North Dakota Grazing Associations have had their way for over 60 years. And it's time for the National grasslands to be managed for multiple uses, not just cows. The grazers with Sen. Dorgan's support have been illegally subleasing their grazing permits for big profits. It's time the Forest Service exercised their management responsibilities. Senator Dorgan, these are public lands that belong to all Americans.