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SJM107...............................................by JUDICIARY AND RULES
GRAZING - Stating findings of the Legislature and expressing concern about
the reduction of grazing permits by the Bureau of Land Management in the
Cliffs Allotment in Owyhee County.
03/02 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/03 Rpt prt - rec d/p - to 10th Ord
03/06 To Agric Aff
03/14 Rpt out - to 10th Ord
03/15 10th ord - ADOPTED - voice vote
Title apvd - to House
03/16 House intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Con
03/24 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/27 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
04/03 3rd rdg - ADOPTED - voice vote - to Senate
04/04 To enrol - rpt enrol - Pres signed
04/05 Sp signed
04/06 To Secretary of State
SJM107
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-fifth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2000
IN THE SENATE
SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 107
BY JUDICIARY AND RULES COMMITTEE
1 A JOINT MEMORIAL
2 TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE IDAHO OFFICE OF THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, THE SEN-
3 ATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEM-
4 BLED, AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO
5 IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
6 We, your Memorialists, the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
7 State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-fifth
8 Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
9 WHEREAS, a developing scenario in Owyhee County has been brought to the
10 attention of the Legislature, and it is appropriate that public attention be
11 drawn to this situation as representative of other similar events occurring in
12 Idaho; and
13 WHEREAS, the Bureau of Land Management is charged with management of lands
14 in Owyhee County known as the Cliffs Allotment; and
15 WHEREAS, the BLM has notified holders of grazing permits in the Cliffs
16 Allotment that the grazing season will be reduced by two and one-half months
17 which is a 53% reduction in the grazing allotment; and
18 WHEREAS, the area is managed to meet a requirement of six inch stubble
19 height at the end of the grazing season, a goal which the BLM says has not
20 been met despite photographic evidence and independent monitoring to the con-
21 trary; and
22 WHEREAS, federal law requires one year's notice before any significant
23 reduction in grazing is ordered, a requirement which has clearly not been met
24 in this case; and
25 WHEREAS, a reduction of the size now contemplated would effectively put
26 five ranching families, with a long history in the Cliffs Allotment and evi-
27 dence of management efforts which have actually improved the conditions of the
28 allotment, out of business; and
29 WHEREAS, the BLM is acting with callous disregard of the local economy,
30 the law, and the best interests of the land and the people of Idaho; and
31 WHEREAS, the BLM must be brought to recognize and consider all of the
32 interests which are indigenous to the locale including the legitimate goals of
33 citizens who make their living off the land.
34 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-
35 sion of the Fifty-fifth Idaho Legislature, the Senate and the House of Repre-
36 sentatives concurring therein, that we join together with the citizens of Owy-
37 hee County in their grievance against the untenable action of the Bureau of
38 Land Management in limiting grazing permits with a reduction of the grazing
39 season by two and one-half months. Further, we urge thoughtful reconsideration
40 not only of this decision, but the accumulating body of management decisions
41 made by the Bureau of Land Management which are resulting in further reduc-
42 tions in the resources available to Idahoans who live off the land.
43 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate be, and she is
44 hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this Memorial to the
2
1 Director of the Idaho Office of the Bureau of Land Management, the President
2 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Congress, and
3 the congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho in the Congress
4 of the United States.