SAMPLE NEWS RELEASE

[Additions by states noted in brackets]

DATE:

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WESTERN RANCHES: WHERE THE DEER AND THE ANTELOPE PLAY

Wildlife thrive in the wide-open spaces of [STATE], often grazing side by side with livestock on both public and private lands. To preserve this heritage for future generations, sportsmen and cattlemen must work together, both on the ground and in our state and Nation’s Capitol, if wildlife habitat is to be saved, the [STATE AFFILIATE NAME] said today.

Many big-game animals spend their summers in the mountainous U.S. Forest Service lands, spring and fall on Bureau of Land Management lands and winters on the lower, more productive private ranch land, according to a 1996 report by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology. In many regions, up to 70 percent of big-game animals remain on private land during winter, a season critical to the survival of most such species, the report says. But these private lands are being threatened in the West.

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"Twenty-acre ranchettes will sound the death knell of western ranches and the wildlife they harbor. Condominiums are spreading across the West, carving up the wide-open landscape. Sportsmen, agriculture groups and conservation groups have been successful in preserving open space. But, much more needs to be done," said [STATE SPOKESPERSON].

Cattlemen are working to improve communication with the sportsmen's community. Last fall, sportsmen and agricultural groups held a national summit to discuss areas of mutual concern. Topics included the fragmentation of land in the West, maintaining a healthy range resource on public lands, keeping access open to public lands and battling activist extremism that is anti-ranching and anti-hunting. The ranching industry has developed an information kit on western ranching for sportsmen's groups.

According to [STATE SPOKESPERSON], these efforts must be stepped-up. Other areas where cattlemen feel both groups can benefit by working together include: elimination of the death tax which encourages land fragmentation and destroys ranches and wildlife habitat, and the passage of a grazing bill that encourages wildlife conservation.

The management and use of renewable resources, including rangeland, must be based on scientific principles. Efforts such as Congressman Bob Smith's Forage Improvement Act [OR INSERT SENATE SPONSOR, BILL NAME AND TIMELINE] approved last fall by the House of Representatives, would require that sound, verifiable science be used to monitor range health and help ensure sensible range management decisions.

The forage bill will give ranchers more stability, encouraging them to invest more to improve range condition and wildlife habitat. Higher quality wildlife habitat can sustain more wildlife, which will result in increased hunting opportunities for the sportsmen's community. The ranching community is urging the Senate to introduce and approve a similar bill [CUT IF SENATE BILL INTRODUCED].

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"Efforts like this need the support of both sportsmen and cattlemen. If fragmentation of western lands continues at the pace we've seen the last few years, it will have devastating effects not only on beef producers, but on hunting and fishing as we know it," said [STATE SPOKESPERSON].

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Note to editors: b-roll and stills of wildlife and wildlife habitat on western ranches is available. Additional information on the beef industry can be found at www.beef.org