Two environmental groups are suing the National Park Service for allowing livestock grazing in Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park.
The groups are not asking for grazing to be immediately discontinued. Instead, they say, they want the National Park Service to follow environmental law and study the impact grazing is having on two cactus plants listed on the Endangered Species Act. "Few people even know that private grazing occurs on these priceless public lands,’ said Jonathan Ratner, Western Watersheds Project director for Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, in a statement.
"National Parks, tiny cacti, fragile soils and a bunch of cows don’t mix," he said. "Unfortunately, the service hasn’t wanted to address this problem and has turned a blind eye to the trampling and degradation caused by cattle in Capitol Reef." The Winkler’s pincushion, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and the Wright fishhook cactus, listed as endangered, are both found within the grazing allotments in Capitol Reef National Park...
more
Capitol Reef was first a National Monument proclaimed by FDR and then expanded by Eisenhower and LBJ. An act passed Congress in 1971 to make it a National Park, and contained the following language:
Sec. 3. Where any Federal lands included within the park are legally
occupied or utilized on the date of approval of this Act for grazing
purposes pursuant to a lease, permit, or license for a fixed term of
years issued or authorized by ant department, establishment, or agency
of the United States, the Secretary of the Interior shall permit the
persons holding such grazing privileges or their heirs to continue in
the exercise thereof during the tern of the lease, permit, or license,
and one period of renewal thereafter.
Sec. 4. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting in any
way rights of owners and operators of cattle and sheep herds, existing
on the date immediately prior to the enactment of the Act, to trail
their herds on traditional courses used by them prior to such date of
enactment, and to water their stock, notwithstanding the fact that the
lands involving such trails and watering are situated within the park:
Provided, That the Secretary may promulgate reasonable
regulations providing for the use of such driveways.
It would appear the one renewal period is over and thus the shall permit language is no longer operable and the enviros aren't happy that grazing is continuing. So we have a nice little enviroscam going where they allow grazing, no doubt for political purposes to get the bill passed, and then use the ESA to either disallow grazing or make it economically unfeasible. Note the Wright fishhook cactus was listed 8 years after the park law passed and the Winkler’s pincushion was listed 17 years after the law passed.
Our enviroscam model would look like this:
Monument with grazing → Park with grazing → ESA listings → Park without grazing
Similar models have been imposed across the West and I'll bet there's one being planned in your area right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment