The biggest and most ambitious scientific undertaking in the history of
the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is languishing after it was revealed
the agency directed scientists to exclude livestock grazing as a
possible factor in changing landscapes. The agency has also yet to
respond to a scientific integrity complaint filed one year ago by Public
Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) charging that the
exclusion of livestock data constituted political interference.
Launched in 2010 with more than $40 million in stimulus funds,
BLM sought to analyze ecological conditions across six “eco-regions”
covering the Sagebrush West. There was only one catch: when scientists
were assembled BLM managers informed them that there was one “change
agent” that would not be studied – the impacts of commercial livestock
grazing. BLM managers told stunned scientists the reason for this
puzzling exclusion was due to “stakeholders” opposition and fear of
litigation, according to documents appended to the PEER complaint.
Since that complaint –
•
These so-called “Rapid Ecoregional Assessments” have all
stalled with no timetable for completion although they were slated to be
finished this year;
• To investigate the PEER complaint, BLM tagged Louis
Brueggeman, its Fire Management Liaison, to act as “Scientific Integrity
Officer.” It is not clear that Mr. Brueggeman has interviewed a single
witness proffered by PEER. Nonetheless in an October 12, 2012 email,
he said he was “in the process of finalizing the report” responding to
the November 2011 PEER complaint; and
• BLM now claims its studies are limited to “four overarching
environmental change agents: climate change, wildfires, invasive
species, and development (both energy development and urban growth)” but
notes “Additional change agents may also be addressed based on
ecoregional needs.”...more
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment