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For Immediate Release, July 10, 2008

Contact: 

Amy Atwood, Center for Biological Diversity, cell: (541) 914-8372; atwood@biologicaldiversity.org

 Statement of the Center for Biological Diversity on the
Bureau of Land Management's Assessment of Grazing Impacts
in Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
Agency's Findings Confirm Grazing's Environmentally Destructive Impacts

TUCSON, Ariz. Today the Bureau of Land Management released assessments of the impacts of livestock grazing on the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, which add to a growing body of scientific evidence to confirm that livestock grazing is fundamentally incompatible with protecting the rare plants, fish, and wildlife the monument was created eight years ago to protect.

The Presidential Proclamation establishing the Monument in 2000 requires the Bureau of Land Management to retire grazing leases if livestock grazing is found to be incompatible with protecting the Monument’s objects of biological interest, which include several species of rare and endangered plants and wildlife including the Greene’s Mariposa lily, Gentner’s fritillary, and Bellinger’s meadowfoam, as well as the northern spotted owl and sensitive species of fish like the Jenny Creek sucker and redband trout.

“The Bureau of Land Management has finally confirmed what its own studies have already conclusively shown, which is that grazing is interfering with the protection of the Gentner’s fritillary, northern spotted owl, and many other species that are struggling to survive in the face of numerous threats,” said Amy Atwood, senior attorney with the Center. “The writing is on the wall, and the only prudent and lawful thing is for the Bureau to take the steps necessary to retire livestock grazing leases without any further delay,” said Atwood.

Despite the Proclamation’s mandate to retire grazing found to be incompatible with protection, the Bureau has said indicated that it may attempt to modify the terms of grazing leases as an interim step before retirement.

“The Proclamation is clear, as are numerous other federal environmental laws and regulations that can be invoked to protect the Monument,” Atwood added.

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The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit conservation organization with more than 180,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. www.biologicaldiversity.org


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