Forest Service: No new grazing allotments despite wildfires

The head of the U.S. Forest Service's rangeland management program says the government won't likely reopen abandoned grazing allotments on federal lands to replace those that have been lost to the West's many wildfires. Charlie Richmond, the agency's director of rangeland management, told the Capital Press that this year's fires "have really overcome our ability to respond to provide additional grazing lands for folks." Adding to the shortage of land is that some vacant allotments have been provided to ranchers around the country who have been affected by drought, he said. Other allotments can't be reopened without an analysis required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), he said. "There are a lot of vacant allotments that are vacant for a reason," Richmond said. "They don't have improvements on them anymore, they don't have water, they haven't been through a NEPA analysis or have an updated plan. A lot of vacant allotments were old sheep allotments. The sheep industry has declined, and they're not available for cattle. "There's just a lot of variables," he said. "It's hard to give you a one-size-fits-all kind of answer, other than to say we're trying to help out. When we have available forage we use that, but we just don't have nearly enough." Richmond's comments follow calls from California Cattlemen's Association officials for the federal government to provide some relief for ranchers who've lost thousands of acres of grazing land because of fires...more

According to the article USDA, Executive Branch working to provide drought relief:

USDA is working with the Department of the Interior to provide flexibility in grazing Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands. Programs include refunds to lessees unable to use their allotments for grazing because of drought or fires, greater flexibility in grazing schedules and management and expanded access to additional federal lands.

Doesn't appear the Forest Service is up to providing "greater flexibility" nor "expanded access".  After all, these vacant allotments don't have "an updated plan"! 

I'm not surprised, for years the FS  has resisted opening these allotments to grazing.

The NEPA problem can be fixed with "sufficiency" language inserted in any bill by Congress.  Not sure the FS can be fixed.