Lawsuit targets cattle grazing in Fremont-Winema National Forest

Three environmental groups are suing the U.S. Forest Service over claims that livestock grazing in the Fremont-Winema National Forest is harming two federally protected fish species. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by Western Watersheds Project, Oregon Wild and Friends of Living Oregon Waters, alleges that forest managers have violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing ranchers to turn out cattle in the forest despite evidence that the grazing is imperiling Lost River and shortnose suckers – two endangered fish found only in the Klamath Basin. The agency monitors grazing within the forest with an eye on how it affects suckers, but the plaintiffs allege agency officials have ignored their own data indicating that grazing livestock have eroded streambanks and reduced water quality in the fishes' critical habitat. They also allege ranchers have repeatedly violated the terms of their permits with no recourse from the Forest Service...more