MESSAGE FROM NATURAL RESOURCES POLICY DIRECTOR
Regulatory activity continues, with some hope in the future for producers ICA continues to advocate for Idaho ranchers, but it's important to stay aware of judicial activities
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omehow, in spite of the fact that Washington DC seems to be in a constant state of bickering and inaction, there remains movement— both backwards and forwards—on issues that have the potential to creep down and affect us, the lowly citizens and ranchers of Idaho. Here is a rundown of some of the current hot-button issues that have seen some recent action.
REGULATORY HAPPENINGS
Late last year, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) which included approximately $1.2 trillion in spending, $550 billion of which is authorized spending on top of what Congress was planning to authorize regularly as part of its annual appropriations process. As a result of this massive increase in funding, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service will receive significant boosts in their budgets. The agencies are in the process of learning and determining how these funds will be directed, but they should be able to begin working on some long-deferred maintenance projects needed to maintain rangeland infrastructure and to enable permittees to utilize funds directed to ecosystem restoration. If you have a Forest Service or BLM grazing permit, talk to your local office to determine if funding is available to assist in projects on your allotments that would benefit and secure continued livestock grazing. The infrastructure bill places heavy emphasis on wildfire management and includes lan10 LINE RIDER APRIL/MAY 2022
BY KAREN WILLIAMS ICA Natural Resources Policy Director
guage that authorizes the BLM and Forest Service to create new categorical exclusions to establish fuel breaks to reduce the risk of wildfire. We will continue to promote the efficiency of utilizing livestock grazing in reducing fine fuel loads, as well as work to encourage the agencies to promote grazing as an important tool in this effort to reduce wildfire risk. In the realm of sage grouse, the comment period for the BLM’s scoping period to consider re-amending their sage grouse management plans closed in February. Idaho Cattle Association (ICA) submitted detailed comments on this proposal. The BLM is now in the process of determining to what extent the plans will be amended and whether it will be on a state by state, regional, or national basis. The Biden administration continues down its path of seeking regulatory change and conservation efforts in the name of climate change. Most recently, they have initiated a process to create an “Atlas” of conservation to determine lands eligible for conservation status under their “30x30” (or “America the Beautiful”) initiative. ICA submitted comments encouraging the administration to incorporate livestock grazing in the Atlas as a conservation tool that not only builds and supports healthy landscapes, but also sustains the surrounding communities and their economies. It has long been a priority for ICA to seek amendments to the BLM grazing regulations to make them less onerous and more user-friendly to both grazing permittees and those that administer the permits. That priority was nearly achieved during the Trump administration but the rule was, frustratingly, never finalized. With the change in administration, we all but gave up the dream on CONTINUED, PAGE 12 www.idahocattle.org
