'Voluminous nature of the administrative record' delays ruling

By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI

Capital Press

Cattle grazing in Oregon's Malheur National Forest will likely be allowed to proceed this spring and summer at levels similar to 2009, according to court documents.

The federal government's grazing plans for the national forest have been the subject of litigation since 2007.

The Oregon Natural Desert Association is suing the U.S. Forest Service for allegedly permitting cattle to degrade steelhead habit in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

Oral arguments in the case were held on March 30, but U.S. District Judge Ancer Haggerty has held off on making a final ruling "due to the voluminous nature of the administrative record," according to a court order.

However, Haggerty indicated grazing will be allowed to continue in the forest while he's deliberating the case.

The Forest Service's proposed grazing levels for 2010 have met with approval from Haggerty, who said the plan is "reasonable" as long as strict habitat monitoring is conducted, according to a recent court order.

Haggerty said he is "amenable" to a revised version of the plan and has asked for plaintiffs and defendants to agree upon a final monitoring strategy by the end of May or the start of June, according to the minutes of a May 25 conference call.

The basic grazing levels recommended by the Forest Service are likely to stay the same, however, as plaintiffs haven't objected to the plan.

The agency wants to allow some grazing on three allotments that were not grazed in 2009 and expand authorized grazing on another allotment that saw limited grazing last year.

As for the other 10 allotments in question, the agency wants to make small changes to authorized grazing levels -- increasing usage slightly in some cases, while decreasing it in others.

Total authorized grazing would be reduced by roughly 10 percent under the Forest Service's plan.

However, actual grazing levels in 2009 ended up being significantly lower than authorized, according to the agency's plan.

Elizabeth Howard, an attorney representing ranchers in the case, said she is heartened that Haggerty appears pleased by grazing plans for 2010.

"We think that it's a really good sign the judge thinks grazing can occur in the Malheur National Forest without a negative impact on steelhead," she said.