Idaho judge turns down committee report on bighorn sheep

A federal judge says the US Forest Service can't use an advisory committee's report on whether domestic sheep pose a disease risk to bighorn sheep because the committee was improperly formed. The decision from U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill could complicate the Forest Service's decision on whether to close 61 percent of the domestic sheep grazing allotments in the Payette National Forest. The Idaho Wool Growers Association filed the lawsuit in 2008, arguing that the Forest Service hand-picked scientists, who then met behind closed doors, to come up with opinions supporting a decision to close grazing allotments to domestic sheep. In his ruling, Winmill declined to comment on the conclusions of the committee, noting only that the process itself was flawed. AP