Enviros file suit over grazing in Ore. forest

Environmentalists are continuing their legal battle against grazing on the Fremont-Winema National Forest with a lawsuit over federal management of a 170,000-acre livestock allotment in northern Klamath County. The complaint filed by Concerned Friends of the Winema and four other groups marks the fourth case in about a decade alleging violations of federal statutes in the Antelope allotment on the Fremont-Winema National Forest, the Capital Press reported. This lawsuit accuses the U.S. Forest Service of unlawfully approving a 10-year grazing permit for the allotment despite “irreparable harm” to the threatened Oregon spotted frog and wetland plants and mollusks. “Rather than protect these special resources, the Forest Service has continued to authorize livestock grazing on the allotment that its own monitoring and experts acknowledge is causing chronic damage and unacceptable impacts to these riparian areas and species,” the complaint said. “Mitigation measures — such as fences and water troughs — have not been effective at preventing cattle from harming the sensitive species and their habitat.” A Forest Service spokesman said the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation and Capital Press was unable to reach a lawyer who has represented affected ranchers in the past. Last year, an analysis conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that grazing plans for the allotment are unlikely to jeopardize the frog or adversely affect its critical habitat, as long as certain conditions are followed. Because the plans only allow for “moderate” levels of grazing and require fencing and gates to shield Oregon spotted frogs from livestock during sensitive periods of low water, the effects on the species are expected to be insignificant, the report said...MORE

Four lawsuits in a decade. You have to feel for these folks. Not many could survive that type of harassment.
And take a look. That Oregon spotted frog is one ugly critter.