SENATE PANEL SAYS YES TO FORAGE IMPROVEMENT BILL

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 29, 1998) – A Senate committee this morning took one step toward easing the fragmentation and development of open spaces in the West by approving a forage bill that will give ranchers more stability, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC) said today. The bill, H.R. 2493, was approved by the House last fall and now is ready for consideration by the full Senate.

"If ranchers can stay in business, the wildlife and wildlife habitat that their lands harbor will stay around for generations to enjoy," said Lynn Cornwell, a cattle producer from Glasgow, Mont. and chairman of the NCBA Federal Lands Committee.

"With low cattle prices and ranchers everywhere struggling to stay in business, more stability for western family ranchers should have a positive effect on the entire beef industry," Cornwell added.

The forage bill would increase the current grazing fee by 36 percent, bringing a greater return to the U.S. Treasury. It would also establish the grazing fee formula by law, instead of the current formula, which is based on an executive order that could be changed at any time.

"With a stable fee, ranchers will be encouraged to invest even more to improve range condition, such as increasing water sources and improving wildlife habitat," said Brent Atkin, a cattle producer from St. George, Utah and PLC president.

The bill institutes science-based range management to improve the range for both wildlife and livestock. It would require sound, verifiable science be used to monitor range health and help ensure sensible range management decisions.

"The forage bill will help maintain the sensitive balance between public and private land grazing by both livestock and wildlife in the West," Atkin said. "If this balance continues to come under attack due to pressure for land development, the open spaces of the West that we all enjoy will remain endangered."

–NCBA/PLC–

Initiated in 1898, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association is the marketing organization and trade association for America's one million cattle farmers and ranchers. With offices in Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C., NCBA is a consumer-focused, producer-directed organization representing the largest segment of the nation's food and fiber industry.

The Public Lands Council represents permittees who hold leases and permits to graze livestock on the federal lands in the West administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the United States Forest Service. It also coordinates the federal-lands policies of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Sheep Industry Association and the Association of National Grasslands. PLC is dedicated to the principle of sound management of federal lands for grazing and other multiple-use purposes.