SAMPLE LETTER TO THE EDITOR

July XX, 2002

Editor's Name
Title
Address
City, State Zip Code

Dear Editor:

There is important legislation now moving through Congress that is critical to the future health of wildlife and ranching in this country: H.R. 2493: The Forage Improvement Act [OR INSERT SENATE BILL NUMBER AND NAME]. Without its passage we look at to a future with fewer open spaces, and more urban sprawl replacing farms, ranches and wildlife habitat.

The bill codifies a grazing fee that is 36% higher than the current fee, which ranchers pay into the U.S. Treasury for grazing their livestock on public land managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Why is this important? Because it provides financial stability. When a rancher goes to see his banker at the beginning of the year, to ask for the loan that he will re-pay 12 months later when he sells his cattle, he needs to be able to present an estimate of how much he needs to pay for grazing on public lands. In the absence of a fee that is written into law, the amount becomes subject to the vagaries of the political winds -- who sits in the White House and who appointed to be Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Agriculture. H.R. 2493 [OR INSERT SENATE BILL NUMBER] settles the fee issue once and for all.

With the fee settled, the rancher has a more stable business. Therefore, he is more likely to keep ranching rather than sell his land under the intense pressure for development in the West. With the rancher in business, wide open spaces do not become subdivisions and shopping centers. They remain wildlife habitat -- rather than asphalt.

The grazing bill also makes sure the range resource stays healthy by requiring a variety of monitoring approaches. But the approaches are flexible in allowing those with the best scientific information to figure out how to manage the resource, as long as the desired condition of the range is met. This too will continue to promote wildlife habitat and populations.

Ranchers, sportsmen and state wildlife agencies have worked together for decades increasing America’s wildlife populations. The results have been dramatic: on BLM lands, elk are up 1005% in the past four decades; antelope are up 175%. Deer populations grew 30% from 1960 to 1988.

Why are wildlife populations flourishing in the same areas as cows? Because in addition to grass that is eaten by both cattle and wildlife, ranchers make significant investments including watering holes and salt licks. These same improvements directly benefit wildlife.

The greatest threat to the future of hunting and wildlife is the same threat for ranching -- land fragmentation. As 20-acre "ranchettes" replace the traditional ranch, the open spaces that supported traditional activities such as ranching and hunting are no longer present. And, managing wildlife in a holistic manner throughout their range becomes very difficult as land is broken up and developed.

America has a heritage of wide open spaces, cowboys and ranching, and abundant wildlife populations. H.R. 2493 [OR INSERT SENATE BILL NUMBER] helps us keep that heritage.

Sincerely yours,

State Spokesperson
Title