YellowSub1962
11-16-2001, 03:20 PM
:mad2::mad2::mad2:
President or Chair
Gila National Forest Permittees' Association.
November 14, 2001.
The Center wants to meet with the Gila National Forest Permittees'
Association in the very near future at a time and place of your
convenience to discuss a proposal for legislated voluntary buyout of
federal grazing permits.
I do not need to remind you of the unfortunate conflict that has arisen
between environmental protection groups, agencies and the public lands
section of the ranching industry as a result of the necessity for
endangered species protection.
We do not see any solution in the type and level of regulation of
grazing
that has been introduced to mitigate threats to endangered species.
Indeed we only see the problem deepening as more and more species
need listing.
As things stand, permit cancellations for resource and ESA protection
leave the rancher without a dime and probably in debt. Naturally,
ranchers resist such efforts, tooth and nail.
The reality is that no-one in the environmental community really wants
to
see ranchers lose their shirts because our precious natural heritage
needs protection. Our focus is on protecting our natural heritage and
not
on ranching.
To resolve this crisis, a broad collection of west-wide environmental
groups have developed a proposal for legislation for a federal
government buy-out of federal grazing permits from any permittees who
are willing to relinquish their preference. These permits would then be
permanently cancelled and withdrawn from livestock use. Certain
congressional representatives are already willing to sponsor such a
bill.
The basic outlines of the proposal are as follows:-
-- A one time payment of $175 per AUM of permitted use on any current
permit. This is $100 over the westwide average market value of
$75/AUM. Market value of allotments in the southwest tend to be below
the westwide average, so the premium paid is even more significant. As
an example, for a typical cow-calf operation with 300 mother cows which
uses public lands for five months per year, this would amount to a cash
payment of $262,500.
-- A buyout would be based only on willingness of permittees to
relinquish permits. There would be absolutely no provision for coerced
buyouts.
-- Buyouts would only be for total and permanent closures of entire
allotments to grazing and not as compensation for partial reductions in
stocking rates spread over the same area.
-- Special consideration may have to be given to partial cancellations
of
permits and closures of less than the entire federal area for allotments
with checkerboard ownership.
-- Priority would go to cancellations of permits with endangered species
conflicts.
-- Buyouts would affect only federal permits, not state leases and not
private grazing, which comprise the bulk of beef/wool producers and
production.
-- The buyout payment would be "no strings attached" and could be used
by the rancher for whatever purpose they desired, including purchase of
replacement grazing property, leases or permits.
-- Additional language to make the buyout payment tax free could be
incorporated into the draft bill.
-- An additional $25/AUM payment to Counties to offset some of the
PILT losses to rural counties.
-- The Supreme Court is clear that no title or right is conveyed by
grazing
permits, and a savings clause would have to be included in the bill.
-- Language already exists in the Taylor Grazing Act for
buyout/cancellation of permittees' preference by the military.
-- There have already been numerous buyouts of grazing permits in the
west by conservation groups. However, none of these buyouts have the
certainty of permit cancellation that legislation could provide.
We have done our best to develop a proposal that is fiscally sound (in
terms of long term taxpayer savings on the grazing program),
environmentally optimal as well as equitable and fair to permittees.
We sincerely hope that your organization(s) will give serious
consideration to this proposal and we particularly want to be able to
meet with you and your executive officers in person to discuss and
debate any and all issues you may have that might hinder ranchers from
endorsing the proposal. We stress that your engagement in this
proposal would provide an historic opportunity to resolve the rangeland
conflict in a manner that is fair to all. Clearly, with
environmentalists and
ranchers together supporting the same bill, there would be no question
that it would pass.
Please call me at your earliest convenience to discuss the matter
further.
Sincerely,
Martin Taylor, Ph.D.
Coordinator
Grazing Reform Program
Center for Biological Diversity
PO Box 710
Tucson AZ 85702
USA
President or Chair
Gila National Forest Permittees' Association.
November 14, 2001.
The Center wants to meet with the Gila National Forest Permittees'
Association in the very near future at a time and place of your
convenience to discuss a proposal for legislated voluntary buyout of
federal grazing permits.
I do not need to remind you of the unfortunate conflict that has arisen
between environmental protection groups, agencies and the public lands
section of the ranching industry as a result of the necessity for
endangered species protection.
We do not see any solution in the type and level of regulation of
grazing
that has been introduced to mitigate threats to endangered species.
Indeed we only see the problem deepening as more and more species
need listing.
As things stand, permit cancellations for resource and ESA protection
leave the rancher without a dime and probably in debt. Naturally,
ranchers resist such efforts, tooth and nail.
The reality is that no-one in the environmental community really wants
to
see ranchers lose their shirts because our precious natural heritage
needs protection. Our focus is on protecting our natural heritage and
not
on ranching.
To resolve this crisis, a broad collection of west-wide environmental
groups have developed a proposal for legislation for a federal
government buy-out of federal grazing permits from any permittees who
are willing to relinquish their preference. These permits would then be
permanently cancelled and withdrawn from livestock use. Certain
congressional representatives are already willing to sponsor such a
bill.
The basic outlines of the proposal are as follows:-
-- A one time payment of $175 per AUM of permitted use on any current
permit. This is $100 over the westwide average market value of
$75/AUM. Market value of allotments in the southwest tend to be below
the westwide average, so the premium paid is even more significant. As
an example, for a typical cow-calf operation with 300 mother cows which
uses public lands for five months per year, this would amount to a cash
payment of $262,500.
-- A buyout would be based only on willingness of permittees to
relinquish permits. There would be absolutely no provision for coerced
buyouts.
-- Buyouts would only be for total and permanent closures of entire
allotments to grazing and not as compensation for partial reductions in
stocking rates spread over the same area.
-- Special consideration may have to be given to partial cancellations
of
permits and closures of less than the entire federal area for allotments
with checkerboard ownership.
-- Priority would go to cancellations of permits with endangered species
conflicts.
-- Buyouts would affect only federal permits, not state leases and not
private grazing, which comprise the bulk of beef/wool producers and
production.
-- The buyout payment would be "no strings attached" and could be used
by the rancher for whatever purpose they desired, including purchase of
replacement grazing property, leases or permits.
-- Additional language to make the buyout payment tax free could be
incorporated into the draft bill.
-- An additional $25/AUM payment to Counties to offset some of the
PILT losses to rural counties.
-- The Supreme Court is clear that no title or right is conveyed by
grazing
permits, and a savings clause would have to be included in the bill.
-- Language already exists in the Taylor Grazing Act for
buyout/cancellation of permittees' preference by the military.
-- There have already been numerous buyouts of grazing permits in the
west by conservation groups. However, none of these buyouts have the
certainty of permit cancellation that legislation could provide.
We have done our best to develop a proposal that is fiscally sound (in
terms of long term taxpayer savings on the grazing program),
environmentally optimal as well as equitable and fair to permittees.
We sincerely hope that your organization(s) will give serious
consideration to this proposal and we particularly want to be able to
meet with you and your executive officers in person to discuss and
debate any and all issues you may have that might hinder ranchers from
endorsing the proposal. We stress that your engagement in this
proposal would provide an historic opportunity to resolve the rangeland
conflict in a manner that is fair to all. Clearly, with
environmentalists and
ranchers together supporting the same bill, there would be no question
that it would pass.
Please call me at your earliest convenience to discuss the matter
further.
Sincerely,
Martin Taylor, Ph.D.
Coordinator
Grazing Reform Program
Center for Biological Diversity
PO Box 710
Tucson AZ 85702
USA