El Paso Corp. and the Public Lands Council are hammering out an agreement that could help resolve the energy company's conflict with the ranching industry and counties along the Ruby Pipeline route. "It's a very positive first step," Public Lands Council President Skye Krebs of Ione, Ore., said Thursday. "It's a real substantial step forward." He said the details were still being worked out, after a meeting Thursday in Salt Lake City. National Cattlemen's Beef Association Federal Lands Committee representatives and other industry representatives also attended the meeting, Krebs said. The conflict is over El Paso Corp.'s $20 million agreement with Western Watersheds Project and the Oregon Natural Desert Association that establishes two conservation funds. The organizations stated one of their goals would be the purchase and retirement of grazing permits. Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, chairman of the Legislative Committee on Public Lands and the Nevada representative and past chairman of the Public Lands Council, said Thursday he had heard only a little about the proposed agreement. "I understand it is in the millions (of dollars)," said Rhoads, who added he expected the Public Lands Council to set up a conference call soon to talk about the proposal...moreWill wait to see the language in the agreement. Hope the cowboys aren't being bought off just like the enviros.
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