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Wednesday, August 10, 2005
BLM delays new rules, will conduct supplemental EIS
The Bureau of Land Management said yesterday it would prepare a supplemental environmental impact study before releasing a final rule affecting 160 million acres of grazing land
Contact: David Loos Greenwire
The Bureau of Land Management said yesterday it would prepare a supplemental environmental impact study before releasing a final rule affecting 160 million acres of grazing land, a move environmental groups hailed as a minor victory in their efforts to derail the rule changes.
BLM's decision comes two weeks after the Western Watersheds Project filed a lawsuit challenging the rules and amid allegations that the agency altered scientific portions of the original EIS.The agency originally planned to publish a final grazing rule in the Federal Register this month.
In current form, the new rules would give ranchers up to five years to reduce the size of their herds if they are causing environmental damage, as well as shared ownership of some structures on federal lands. The proposed regulations also remove a requirement that BLM seek ownership of livestock water rights to the maximum extent possible under state law and limit the extent to which outsiders can comment on policymaking decisions.
BLM spokesman Tom Gorey said the supplemental EIS would take at least several months to complete and mainly would address concerns and questions raised during the formal public comment period, which expired in March. "We will address as much we can, we want to go the extra mile," he said.
Environmentalists interpreted BLM's decision to do further study to mean the rules would not survive a legal challenge. "I'm not too surprised they're going to do something to modify it. I would expect that they're going to try and cover their tracks," said Billy Stern,Grazing Reform Program Coordinator for WildEarth Guardians.
In June, two retired BLM scientists who helped draft the EIS accused Interior Department officials of altering portions of the study. For example, BLM's final draft was edited to strike a line reading: "The Proposed Action will have a slow, long-term adverse impact on wildlife and biological diversity in general" (Greenwire, June 20).
Laurie Rule, an attorney with Advocates for the West, which is representing the Western Watersheds Project in the lawsuit, said the SEIS could take between six months and a year to complete, but she was not optimistic the supplemental study would result in policy changes.
"Realistically, I don't expect any changes to the rules," Rule said. "I think they will beef up their environmental analysis in order to strengthen it against our lawsuit, but it will probably be the same rule."
Greenwire Website
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