**STATEMENT OF ANDY KERR**

**THE LARCH COMPANY**

**CONSULTANT TO THE SODA MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS COUNCIL**

***BEFORE THE***

**SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC
LANDS AND FORESTS**

***REGARDING THE***

**"CASCADE-SISKIYOU NATIONAL MONUMENT VOLUNTARY AND EQUITABLE GRAZING
CONFLICT RESOLUTION ACT"**

**FEBRUARY 27, 2008**

*With towering fir forests, sunlit oak groves, wildflower-strewn
meadows, and steep canyons, the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is an
ecological wonder, with biological diversity unmatched in the Cascade
Range. This rich enclave of natural resources is a biological crossroads
-- the interface of the Cascade, Klamath, and Siskiyou ecoregions, in an
area of unique geology, biology, climate, and topography.... The
monument is home to a spectacular variety of rare and beautiful species
of plants and animals, whose survival in this region depends upon its
continued ecological integrity."*

Proclamation Establishing the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument[^1]

June 9, 2000 (Attachment 1)

My name is Andy Kerr. I am a consultant to the Soda Mountain Wilderness
Council on matters relating to the proposed Soda Mountain Wilderness, as
well as livestock grazing and other issues in the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument. I am filling in today in place of Dave Willis, who
has contracted the flu.

The Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion in southwest Oregon and northwest
California is the most botanically diverse coniferous forest in North
America, if not the world---a veritable Noah's Ark of botanical
diversity. The ecoregion is relatively undeveloped and relatively high
elevation. It serves as a land bridge between the Cascade Mountains and
the Great Basin, and it genetically connects the mountainous
Klamath-Siskiyous with the rest of the West. The Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument area is the ecological loading dock for the
botanically diverse Klamath-Siskiyou ark---that is the scientific object
of interest for which the monument was proclaimed. And that is why the
monument Proclamation refers to the area as "an ecological wonder" and
"a biological crossroads."

The Cascade-Siskiyou Monument's Proclamation states that the area "is
home to a spectacular variety of rare and beautiful species of plants
and animals whose survival in this region depends upon its continued
ecological integrity."

Thank you, Chairman Wyden and Senator Smith, for introducing S. 2379,
the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Voluntary and Equitable Grazing
Conflict Resolution Act. If enacted into law, this legislation will
improve ecological and watershed protection and restoration within the
national monument. The legislation includes three major components:

1\. designation of the Soda Mountain Wilderness;

2\. a land exchange to consolidate public ownership in the monument and
enhance monument values; and

3\. voluntary and equitable resolution of the inherent incompatibility
of livestock grazing in one of our nation's premier wild areas.

All three components are politically inter-dependent and all three
further the purposes for which the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
was established.

**The Soda Mountain Wilderness**

> *One of the most striking features of the Western Cascades in this
> area is Pilot Rock, located near the southern boundary of the
> monument. The rock is a volcanic plug, a remnant of a feeder vent left
> after a volcano eroded away, leaving an outstanding example of the
> inside of a volcano. Pilot Rock has sheer, vertical basalt faces up to
> 400 feet above the talus slope at its base, with classic columnar
> jointing created by the cooling of its andesite composition.*
>
> Proclamation Establishing the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
>
> June 9, 2000

Background materials about the proposed Soda Mountain Wilderness are
attached to this statement (Attachment 2).

• The proposed Soda Mountain Wilderness is:

> \- at the intersection of many divergent ecosystems and landscapes,
> including the Siskiyou and Cascade mountain ranges, the Oregon Desert,
> California chaparral, and High Cascade and coastal westside forests;
>
> \- home to ten rare, threatened or endangered species, including
> northern spotted owl, Greene's Mariposa lily, Genter's fritillary,
> Ashland thistle, pygmy monkey flower, clustered lady's slipper,
> green-flowered wild ginger and Siskiyou fritillary;
>
> \- host to \~7 miles of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail;
>
> \- renowned for one of the highest diversities of butterflies in the
> country (120+ species);
>
> \- noted for one of the highest diversities of mollusk species in the
> country;
>
> \- habitat for Jenny Creek redband trout, western pond turtle, elk,
> black bear, bobcat, golden eagle, goshawk, prairie falcon, and
> peregrine falcon;
>
> \- critical deer winter range ("best of the last" in the region);
>
> \- remarkably botanically diverse; and
>
> \- home to Pilot Rock (elev. 5,910'), a columnar basalt landmark
> visible from throughout the region.

• Major tree species in the proposed wilderness include Douglas-fir,
ponderosa pine, Oregon white oak, California black oak, incense cedar,
western juniper, bigleaf maple, sugar pine, madrone, Douglas hawthorn,
shining and arroyo willows, mock-orange, Douglas-spirea, Oregon ash,
white alder, black cottonwood, birch leaf mountain mahogany, and quaking
aspen.

Establishing the Soda Mountain Wilderness would benefit current and
future generations of Oregonians.

• Congress has designated backcountry Wilderness in numerous other
national parks and monuments.

• Designating the wilderness would conflict with few, if any, commodity
or other uses. The proposed wilderness is:

\* entirely federal public land (*no private inholdings*);

> \* \~23,000 acres entirely within the 53,000-acre Cascade-Siskiyou
> National Monument in Oregon (*already dedicated to non-commodity
> purposes*);
>
> \* already withdrawn from potential mineral development (*per CSNM
> proclamation*; *and there are no historic mineral claims*);
>
> \* would not conflict with livestock grazing (*grazing would be
> eliminated via voluntary grazing lease retirement*);

\* already closed to off-road vehicles (*per CSNM proclamation*);

\* already closed to commercial logging (*per CSNM proclamation*); and

\* is little-used by mountain bikers (*the CSNM proclamation closed the
former Schoheim Jeep "Road" to all "mechanized" vehicles and the CSNM
management plan closes most of the remainder of the trails in the area
to mechanized use*).

• Designating the Soda Mountain Wilderness would have no effect on the
Northwest Forest Plan.

• The proposed Soda Mountain Wilderness includes:

> \* Oregon Gulch Research Natural Area (1,056 acres);
>
> \* Scotch Creek Research Natural Area (1,800 acres);
>
> \* Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (\~7 miles); and
>
> \* a BLM-Recommended Wilderness Area endorsed by President George H.W.
> Bush (6,447 acres).

• Wilderness designation is favored by editorials published by the
Ashland *Daily Tidings*, Medford *Mail-Tribune*, Eugene *Register-Guard*
and the Portland *Oregonian*.

**The Rowlett Land Exchange**

> *All Federal lands and interests in lands within the boundaries of
> this monument are hereby appropriated and withdrawn from all forms of
> entry, location, selection, sale, or leasing or other disposition
> under the public land laws, including but not limited to withdrawal
> from location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and from
> disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing,
> **other than by exchange that furthers the protective purposes of the
> monument**.* (emphasis added)
>
> Proclamation Establishing the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
>
> June 9, 2000

Background information about the proposed Rowlett Land Exchange is
attached to this statement (Attachment 3). In summary, the proposed land
exchange:

• is in the public interest;

• furthers the purposes for which the national monument was established;

• adds approximately two-thirds of a mile of essential spawning habitat
for the Jenny Creek redband trout in Keene Creek and Lincoln Creek to
the national monument (the trout is an object of biological interest
identified in the monument proclamation).

• would protect the very scenic and highly visible Keene Creek Canyon;

• has the added benefit of retiring livestock grazing on the Box R
Allotment.

The parcel sought for public ownership is generally forested and is
contiguous with BLM land to the north.

**Grazing Lease Retirement**

> ***The Secretary of the Interior shall study the impacts of livestock
> grazing on the objects of biological interest in the monument with
> specific attention to sustaining the natural ecosystem dynamics.**
> Existing authorized permits or leases may continue with appropriate
> terms and conditions under existing laws and regulations. **Should
> grazing be found incompatible with protecting the objects of
> biological interest, the Secretary shall retire the grazing allotments
> pursuant to the processes of applicable law.** Should grazing permits
> or leases be relinquished by existing holders, the Secretary shall not
> reallocate the forage available under such permits or for livestock
> grazing purposes unless the Secretary specifically finds, pending the
> outcome of the study, that such reallocation will advance the purposes
> of the proclamation.* (emphasis added)
>
> Proclamation Establishing the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
>
> June 9, 2000

The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Voluntary and Equitable Grazing
Conflict Resolution Act provides that---if eligible lessees voluntarily
relinquish their interest in federal public land livestock grazing in
and near the national monument---the federal government will compensate
them and permanently close the allotments, or portions thereof, to
livestock grazing.

To local public lands ranchers, the proposed grazing lease retirement
program is the most important component of this legislation. The Soda
Mountain Wilderness Council supports a fair and equitable way to end
livestock grazing in and near the national monument.

Grazing lease retirement in and near the national monument is
ecologically imperative, economically rational, fiscally prudent,
socially just and politically pragmatic.

**Proclamation-Required Grazing Impacts Study**

The monument proclamation states:

> *The Secretary of the Interior shall study the impacts of livestock
> grazing on the objects of biological interest in the monument with
> specific attention to sustaining the natural ecosystem dynamics....
> Should grazing be found incompatible with protecting the objects of
> biological interest, the Secretary shall retire the grazing allotments
> pursuant to the processes of applicable law.*

The government grazing studies are complete, as are additional studies
by the National Center for Conservation Science and Policy. The
scientific findings are clear: livestock grazing is incompatible with
the protection of objects of biological interest and sustaining natural
ecosystem dynamics in the monument. (See Attachment 4 for a summary of
the grazing impact studies.) To conservationists, the language of the
proclamation is clear: if continued livestock grazing conflicts with
protecting monument values, the former must end.

However, BLM is likely to have a different view. The agency will
probably seek to modify the grazing leases by limiting the intensity,
duration, timing, frequency and/or method of livestock grazing in an
attempt to both preserve objects of biological interest in the monument
and continue livestock grazing. New grazing restrictions would render
continued grazing more costly and difficult, and perhaps untenable, in
the monument.

**"Permanent" Grazing Lease Retirement**

The proclamation also states:

> *Should grazing permits or leases be relinquished by existing holders,
> the Secretary shall not reallocate the forage available under such
> permits or for livestock grazing purposes unless the Secretary
> specifically finds, pending the outcome of the study, that such
> reallocation will advance the purposes of the proclamation.*

This language provides for grazing lease retirement, but it does not
necessarily mandate *permanent* lease retirement. The modification of
grazing leases to reduce grazing impacts in the monument will be
controversial---and interminable. Congress should make clear that, if
grazing lessees voluntarily waive their interest in their federal
grazing leases, domestic livestock should never again darken the door of
the loading dock to nature's ark.

**Congressional Policy for Voluntary Grazing Permit/Lease Retirement in
Extraordinary Circumstances**

Congress has authorized and funded voluntary grazing permit/lease
retirement in extraordinary circumstances in the past (see Attachment
5). Congress has compensated ranchers for the loss of federal grazing
permits/leases in a national park, a bombing range, and a unit of the
National Landscape Conservation System:

• Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

• Juniper Butte Bombing Range, Idaho

• Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area, Oregon

The possibility of continued grazing in the Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument is at least as extraordinary as the examples of Congressionally
authorized permit/lease retirement cited here.

In addition, for more than 50 years, whenever the Department of Defense
has taken public lands for national security purposes, a statute has
required that the Department compensate any affected grazing
permittee/lessee for lost grazing privileges. The military has also
bought out federal grazing permits/leases on public land to mitigate for
harm caused to endangered species from military activities on military
reservations.

**To Pay or Not to Pay?**

In other cases, Congress has only provided that grazing permits/leases
voluntarily relinquished to the federal government would be permanently
retired---Congress did not provide compensation to participating
ranchers. In these cases, a third party compensated the ranchers. The
Soda Mountain Wilderness Council believes that it is fair and just for
Congress to pay grazing lessees who voluntarily waive their interests in
grazing leases in and near the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. While
munificent to the affected ranchers, it still cheaper for the
taxpayers---considering the amount of ongoing subsidies, defending
against future litigation, and other costs associated with continued
grazing.

**How Much to Pay?**

S. 2379 would compensate participating lessees at a rate of \$300/AUM.
While this amount is above *market* value, it is comparable to
*replacement* value of the lost forage. When a car is totaled, the
insurance company pays the owner market value. When a hurricane or a
flood wipes out a house, the insurance company pays replacement value.
The choice between market value and replacement value is based on the
likelihood of occurrence of the associated event. Cars are totaled far
more often than houses. The federal government rarely cancels federal
grazing leases. Voluntary grazing lease retirement is a rare event.

**A Fair and Just Act**

Many of the families that have ranched in and near the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument have done so for generations. With the monument
proclamation, the federal government has changed the rules on this group
of public lands ranchers. Some would like to reconfigure their
operations to rely solely on private land; others are near (or past)
retirement. It's not just a business for them, but a way of life.
Voluntary lease retirement would allow each ranching family to realize
their own goals.

**Conclusion**

*"The Soda Mountain area is more than just botanically interesting; it
is an important link for migration, dispersion, and the process of
evolution in the Northwest."*

Dr. Tom Atzet, U.S. Forest Service

Southwest Oregon Area Ecologist

March 22, 1994

Senator Smith, with the cooperation of Senator Wyden, has crafted S.
2379 in a way that can work for the local conservation and livestock
grazing communities. The legislation furthers the public interest and
the purposes for which the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument was
established. Enactment of S. 2379 will enhance the protection and
restoration of a botanically diverse ecoregion that serves as a loading
dock to the Klamath-Siskiyou ark. The legislation is fair to ranchers
and it will benefit future generations of Oregonians and all Americans.

Thank you.

Andy Kerr

The Larch Company

1213 Iowa Street

Ashland, OR 97520

541/201-0053

andykerr@andykerr.net

**Attachment 1**

**Proclamation Establishing the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument**

June 9, 2000

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION[^2]

With towering fir forests, sunlit oak groves, wildflower-strewn meadows,
and steep canyons, the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is an
ecological wonder, with biological diversity unmatched in the Cascade
Range. This rich enclave of natural resources is a biological crossroads
\-- the interface of the Cascade, Klamath, and Siskiyou ecoregions, in
an area of unique geology, biology, climate, and topography.

The monument is home to a spectacular variety of rare and beautiful
species of plants and animals, whose survival in this region depends
upon its continued ecological integrity. Plant communities present a
rich mosaic of grass and shrublands, Garry and California black oak
woodlands, juniper scablands, mixed conifer and white fir forests, and
wet meadows. Stream bottoms support broad-leaf deciduous riparian trees
and shrubs. Special plant communities include rosaceous chaparral and
oak-juniper woodlands. The monument also contains many rare and endemic
plants, such as Greene\'s Mariposa lily, Gentner\'s fritillary, and
Bellinger\'s meadowfoam.

The monument supports an exceptional range of fauna, including one of
the highest diversities of butterfly species in the United States. The
Jenny Creek portion of the monument is a significant center of fresh
water snail diversity, and is home to three endemic fish species,
including a long-isolated stock of redband trout. The monument contains
important populations of small mammals, reptile and amphibian species,
and ungulates, including important winter habitat for deer. It also
contains old growth habitat crucial to the threatened Northern spotted
owl and numerous other bird species such as the western bluebird, the
western meadowlark, the pileated woodpecker, the flammulated owl, and
the pygmy nuthatch.

The monument\'s geology contributes substantially to its spectacular
biological diversity. The majority of the monument is within the Cascade
Mountain Range. The western edge of the monument lies within the older
Klamath Mountain geologic province. The dynamic plate tectonics of the
area, and the mixing of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary geological
formations, have resulted in diverse lithologies and soils. Along with
periods of geological isolation and a range of environmental conditions,
the complex geologic history of the area has been instrumental in
producing the diverse vegetative and biological richness seen today.

One of the most striking features of the Western Cascades in this area
is Pilot Rock, located near the southern boundary of the monument. The
rock is a volcanic plug, a remnant of a feeder vent left after a volcano
eroded away, leaving an outstanding example of the inside of a volcano.
Pilot Rock has sheer, vertical basalt faces up to 400 feet above the
talus slope at its base, with classic columnar jointing created by the
cooling of its andesite composition.

The Siskiyou Pass in the southwest corner of the monument contains
portions of the Oregon/California Trail, the region\'s main north/south
travel route first established by Native Americans in prehistoric times,
and used by Peter Skene Ogden in his 1827 exploration for the Hudson\'s
Bay Company.

Section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431),
authorizes the President, in his discretion, to declare by public
proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures,
and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated
upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United
States to be national monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof
parcels of land, the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to
the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the
objects to be protected.

WHEREAS it appears that it would be in the public interest to reserve
such lands as a national monument to be known as the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of
America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Act of June
8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431), do proclaim that there are hereby
set apart and reserved as the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, for
the purpose of protecting the objects identified above, all lands and
interests in lands owned or controlled by the United States within the
boundaries of the area described on the map entitled \"Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument\" attached to and forming a part of this proclamation.
The Federal land and interests in land reserved consist of approximately
52,000 acres, which is the smallest area compatible with the proper care
and management of the objects to be protected.

All Federal lands and interests in lands within the boundaries of this
monument are hereby appropriated and withdrawn from all forms of entry,
location, selection, sale, or leasing or other disposition under the
public land laws, including but not limited to withdrawal from location,
entry, and patent under the mining laws, and from disposition under all
laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing, other than by exchange
that furthers the protective purposes of the monument.

There is hereby reserved, as of the date of this proclamation and
subject to valid existing rights, a quantity of water sufficient to
fulfill the purposes for which this monument is established. Nothing in
this reservation shall be construed as a relinquishment or reduction of
any water use or rights reserved or appropriated by the United States on
or before the date of this proclamation.

The commercial harvest of timber or other vegetative material is
prohibited, except when part of an authorized science-based ecological
restoration project aimed at meeting protection and old growth
enhancement objectives. Any such project must be consistent with the
purposes of this proclamation. No portion of the monument shall be
considered to be suited for timber production, and no part of the
monument shall be used in a calculation or provision of a sustained
yield of timber. Removal of trees from within the monument area may take
place only if clearly needed for ecological restoration and maintenance
or public safety.

For the purpose of protecting the objects identified above, the
Secretary of the Interior shall prohibit all motorized and mechanized
vehicle use off road and shall close the Schoheim Road, except for
emergency or authorized administrative purposes.

Lands and interests in lands within the proposed monument not owned by
the United States shall be reserved as a part of the monument upon
acquisition of title thereto by the United States.

The Secretary of the Interior shall manage the monument through the
Bureau of Land Management, pursuant to applicable legal authorities
(including, where applicable, the Act of August 28, 1937, as amended (43
U.S.C. 1181a-1181j)), to implement the purposes of this proclamation.

The Secretary of the Interior shall prepare, within 3 years of this
date, a management plan for this monument, and shall promulgate such
regulations for its management as he deems appropriate. The management
plan shall include appropriate transportation planning that addresses
the actions, including road closures or travel restrictions, necessary
to protect the objects identified in this proclamation.

The Secretary of the Interior shall study the impacts of livestock
grazing on the objects of biological interest in the monument with
specific attention to sustaining the natural ecosystem dynamics.
Existing authorized permits or leases may continue with appropriate
terms and conditions under existing laws and regulations. Should grazing
be found incompatible with protecting the objects of biological
interest, the Secretary shall retire the grazing allotments pursuant to
the processes of applicable law. Should grazing permits or leases be
relinquished by existing holders, the Secretary shall not reallocate the
forage available under such permits or for livestock grazing purposes
unless the Secretary specifically finds, pending the outcome of the
study, that such reallocation will advance the purposes of the
proclamation.

The establishment of this monument is subject to valid existing rights.

Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge or diminish the
jurisdiction of the State of Oregon with respect to fish and wildlife
management.

Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke any existing
withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation; however, the national
monument shall be the dominant reservation.

Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not to appropriate,
injure, destroy, or remove any feature of this monument and not to
locate or settle upon any of the lands thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of June,
in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

/s/ WILLIAM J. CLINTON

**Attachment 2**

**The Proposed Soda Mountain Wilderness**

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="6.295138888888889in"
height="8.253472222222221in"}

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="5.766666666666667in"
height="8.986805555555556in"}

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="6.09375in" height="7.940277777777778in"}

**Attachment 3**

**Proposed Rowlett Land Exchange**

The two similarly sized parcels are less than two miles apart and within
the exterior boundary of the national monument. The exchange would
further the public interest and the purposes of the national monument.
Following is a written summary of the exchange and a map prepared by the
Bureau of Land Management at the request of Senator Smith, as well as
aerial photos of the two parcels (*note*: photos are of different
scales).

**Offered Parcel (Rowlett to BLM)**

**Size:** 44.41 Acres

**Location:** NE ¼, NW ¼, Section 18, Township 40 South, Range 4 East,
Willamette Meridian. Jackson County Tax Lot 40R4E 1100, Parcel 3.

**Resource Summary:** Approximately two-thirds of a mile of spawning
habitat in Keene Creek and Lincoln Creek for Jenny Creek redband trout
(an object of biological interest identified in the monument
proclamation). Contains a highly scenic Keene Creek Canyon. The parcel
offered for exchange is generally forested and contiguous with BLM land
to the north.

**Market Value:** \$16,872 based on Jackson County "Real Market Value"
of \$33,064 for 87.03 acres in tax lot (2006 data). This value doesn't
factor in value as a potential home site (80-acre minimum in this area),
if the parcel was not split as is currently proposed. In addition, the
quarry (shale for the taking without crushing) on adjacent Parcel 2 is
not valued in this estimate.

**Selected Parcel (BLM to Rowlett)**

**Size:** 46.39 acres

**Location:** NW ¼, NE ¼, Section 5, Township 40 South, Range 40 East,
Willamette Meridian. Jackson County Tax Lot 40R4E 3300, Lot 2.

**Resource Summary:** Approximately one-third forested. Approximately
0.1 mile of Beaver Creek flows through the parcel. Approximately 10% is
leased from BLM by area rancher for agriculture. The parcel is
surrounded by property owned by Rowlett. There is no public access.

**Market Value:** Unknown as Jackson County does not appraise federal
land.

*All information subject to verification, expansion and/or correction.*

*Prepared by:* Andy Kerr, The Larch Company, at the request of Soda
Mountain Wilderness Council, February 2008.

![](media/image4.png){width="6.492361111111111in"
height="8.402777777777779in"}

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="4.71875in" height="7.554861111111111in"}

*Tax Lot 1000 is currently BLM land totally surrounded by Rowlett
property with no public access. Approximately 0.1 miles of Beaver Creek
flows through BLM parcel. Rowlett's Resort headquarters and other
outbuildings can be seen at lower left. Rowlett has long held an
agricultural lease from BLM for the land in the parcel west of the road
(dotted line).*

![](media/image6.jpeg){width="6.499305555555556in"
height="5.992361111111111in"}

*Rowlett is offering the [west half]{.underline} of Tax Lot 3300
(outline of \~80-acre rectangle discernable by vegetation change
\["3300" is in center of parcel\]). Approximately two-thirds of a mile
of spawning habitat on Keene Creek (flowing from upper left corner to
eastern edge of map) and Lincoln Creek (flowing from lower left corner
into Keene Creek) for Jenny Creek redband trout (an object of biological
interest in the monument proclamation). Contains a highly scenic canyon
along Keene Creek. The parcel is generally forested and is contiguous
with BLM land to the north (Tax Lot 700). The east half of Rowlett's Tax
Lot 3300 is an active quarry.*

**Attachment 4**

**Summary of the Science on Grazing Impacts in the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument**

![](media/image7.png){width="6.496527777777778in"
height="8.179166666666667in"}

**Attachment 5**

**Federal Payments to Retire Federal Grazing Permits**

Congress has appropriated funds to compensate federal grazing permittees
to retire their grazing permits on numerous occasions. Since 1948, the
Department of Defense has routinely compensated federal grazing
permittees/lessees for lost grazing privileges when it appropriates
federal public lands for military purposes. In 1998, Congress enacted a
specific provision of law to purchase public lands grazing permits when
it expanded a bombing range in Idaho. Congress also authorized grazing
permit buyout in a national park in Utah that equitably resolved decades
of grazing conflicts in the park.

Federally funded voluntary grazing permit buyout is:

**• Ecologically Imperative.** Removing domestic livestock from federal
public lands will assist the recovery of threatened and endangered
species;[^3] improve water quality and quantity;[^4] increase big game
on public lands, including elk, deer, bighorn sheep, bison and
pronghorn;[^5] promote recovery of western riparian areas;[^6] improve
forest health;[^7] aid restoration of natural fire regimes;[^8] increase
biological diversity, especially bird species;[^9] reduce soil
erosion;[^10] and stem the spread of invasive weeds.[^11]

**• Economically Rational.** Measured in acres per cow rather than cows
per acre, livestock grazing on federal public lands in the West is more
a lifestyle choice than a rational economic activity. Most public lands
ranches have a negative to 3% nominal return on investment,[^12] which
fails even to keep pace with inflation. The average acre of private
grazing land in the East is 82 times more productive[^13] than an
average acre of Bureau of Land Management land in the West.[^14]

**• Fiscally Prudent.** The federal taxpayers spend \$17.50 dollars for
every dollar received from grazing fees.[^15]

**• Socially Just.** Decades ago, many fewer people used public lands
for recreation and other purposes and science and the public were
unaware of grazing conflicts with native species, ecosystems and
watersheds. Livestock grazing was encouraged on public lands. Today,
livestock grazing often conflicts with other uses of public lands and
environmental protection. Society has changed the rules for public lands
ranching. Grazing permittees deserve support to transition out of the
public lands livestock industry.

**• Politically Pragmatic.** Rather than produce more studies of grazing
conflicts, more intensified range management to mitigate the conflicts,
or more litigation, the simple solution is to compensate federal grazing
permit holders to voluntarily relinquish their grazing permits back to
the federal government. A recent survey indicates that half of public
lands ranchers in Nevada would be interested in grazing permit
buyout.[^16]

**Federally Funded Grazing Permit Buyout Examples**

**Capitol Reef National Park, Utah** • Livestock grazing in Capitol Reef
National Park had been controversial even since before the park was
established in 1971.[^17] Disputes over a phase-out of existing grazing
permits helped ignite the "sagebrush rebellion," and prompted
Congressional action to ensure continued grazing in the park for
decades. Various legislation guaranteed current permit holders grazing
privileges inside the park, first for the remaining term of their
permit,[^18] and then another ten years,[^19] and later for the lifetime
of the current permit holders and their children.[^20] Permittees were
allowed to graze, trail and/or water their livestock throughout much of
the park, regardless of conflicts with recreation or conservation of
park resources.[^21] At one point Congress requested the National
Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of grazing impacts in the
park,[^22] only to cancel the study five years later.[^23] After decades
of conflict---and sixteen years after the Park Service first recommended
ending grazing inside the park---grazing permittees finally agreed to
sell, and the Park Service agreed to buy and retire, grazing permits for
allotments inside the park. The Utah Congressional delegation supported
the National Park Service initiative to compensate ranchers and retire
the grazing permits[^24] (the Senate Committee on Appropriations
memorialized the deal in 1988[^25]). The Park Service retired seventy
percent of the grazed area inside the park over the next several
years.[^26] However, as the value of grazing permits increased, the Park
Service was gradually priced out of the market (the Park Service was
limited to a maximum payout of \$52/AUM). In 1998/1999 two permits for
the 11,688 acre Cathedral Allotment, the last active allotment in the
northern third of the park, came on the market. Unable to meet the
asking price for the Cathedral permits, the Service approached the Grand
Canyon Trust about paying the permittee the difference between his
asking price and what the Service could legally pay. The Trust agreed.
With the retirement of the Cathedral permits, only two permits for
grazing in the park remain.

**Juniper Butte Bombing Range, Idaho** • In 1998 Congress expanded the
Juniper Butte Bombing Range for the Air Force onto BLM lands in the
Owyhee Canyonlands in Idaho. Congress directed the Secretary of the Air
Force to "conclude and implement agreements" with grazing permittees
with grazing permits in the expanded bombing range "to provide
appropriate consideration, including future grazing arrangements" for
their lost public lands grazing privileges. [^27]

Responding to the Congressional directive, the Air Force first paid
Rancher A \$650,000 for 1,252 permitted animal unit months (AUMs) on the
BLM's Juniper Draw Allotment that became part of the expanded Juniper
Butte Bombing Range, which amounts to \$519.17/permitted AUM. Second,
the Air Force paid Rancher B \$325,000 to vacate 780 permitted AUMs on
the BLM's Clover Crossing Allotment (outside the bombing range), which
is \$416.67/permitted AUM. Rancher A was then given use of the
780/permitted AUMs on the Clover Crossing Allotment that Rancher B was
paid to relinquish. Thus, in fact, Rancher A only "lost" the use of 472
permitted AUMs with the expansion of the bombing range, for which he
received \$650,000, which is actually \$1,377.12/permitted AUM. Since
that time, the Air Force, purportedly to reduce the threat of wildfire,
has authorized Rancher A to again graze the Juniper Draw allotment
inside the bombing range---and has authorized a higher level of grazing
than when the allotment was administered by BLM. [^28]

**Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area, Oregon** •
In 2000, Congress authorized the end of livestock grazing on
approximately 100,000 acres in the Steens Mountain Wilderness.[^29]
Congress in essence paid to retire grazing on the allotments by
approving several land exchanges and cash payments intended to make the
affected livestock operators whole. The rate per AUM is undeterminable
because the grazing permit buyouts were associated with the land
exchanges and other payments.

**Taylor Grazing Act Department of Defense Grazing Permit Buyout** •
Since 1948 federal law has mandated that the government compensate
federal grazing permittees when their grazing privileges are reduced or
eliminated for military purposes.

> *Whenever use for war or national defense purposes of the public
> domain or other property owned by or under the control of the United
> States prevents its use for grazing, persons holding grazing permits
> or licenses and persons whose grazing permits or licenses have been or
> will be canceled because of such use shall be paid out of the funds
> appropriated or allocated for such project such amounts as the head of
> the department or agency so using the lands shall determine to be fair
> and reasonable for the losses suffered by such persons as a result of
> the use of such lands for war or national defense purposes. Such
> payments shall be deemed payment in full for such losses. Nothing
> contained in this section shall be construed to create any liability
> not now existing against the United States.*[^30]

**Endangered Species Mitigation •** In addition, in recent years the
Department of Defense has purchased and retired federal grazing
permits/leases in the Mojave Desert as mitigation for military
activities that affect the threatened desert tortoise. Military
permit/lease buyout has occurred both on lands that were previously
public but have since become military reservations (see above) and also
on nearby public lands within the range of the imperiled tortoise.

[^1]: The Proclamation Establishing the Cascade Siskiyou National
    Monument is included here as Attachment 1.

[^2]: Establishment of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument,
    Proclamation No. 7318, 65 Fed. Reg. 37249, 37251 (June 9, 2000).

[^3]: NPLGC. "Grazing Impacts on Threatened and Endangered Species"
    (factsheet),
    www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/PDF/FS_Cows_v_Endangered_Species.PDF.

[^4]: NPLGC. "Livestock and Water" (factsheet),
    www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/PDF/FS_Cows_v_Water.PDF; G.
    Wuerthner. 2002. Guzzling the West's Water: Squandering a Public
    Resource at Public Expense. Pages 195-197 *[in]{.underline}* G.
    Wuerthner and M. Matteson (eds.). [Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized
    Destruction of the American West.]{.smallcaps} Island Press. Covelo,
    CA (available at
    www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/PDF/wr_Guzzling_Water.PDF).

[^5]: NPLGC. "Livestock versus Wildlife" (factsheet),
    www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/FS_Cows_v_Wildlife.PDF.

[^6]: NPLGC. "Livestock and Water" (factsheet),
    www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/PDF/FS_Cows_v_Water.PDF; J.
    Boone Kauffman. 2002. Lifeblood of the West: Riparian Zones,
    Biodiversity, and Degradation by Livestock. Pages 175-176
    *[in]{.underline}* G. Wuerthner and M. Matteson (eds.). [Welfare
    Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American
    West.]{.smallcaps} Island Press. Covelo, CA; A. J. Belsky, A.
    Matzke, S. Uselman. 2002. What the River Once Was: Livestock
    Destruction of Waters and Wetlands. Pages 179-182 *[in]{.underline}*
    G. Wuerthner and M. Matteson (eds.). [Welfare Ranching: The
    Subsidized Destruction of the American West.]{.smallcaps} Island
    Press. Covelo, CA; S. Fouty. 2002. Cattle and Streams: Piecing
    Together a Story of Change. Pages 185-187 *[in]{.underline}* G.
    Wuerthner and M. Matteson (eds.). [Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized
    Destruction of the American West.]{.smallcaps} Island Press. Covelo,
    CA.

[^7]: NPLGC. "Livestock Major Factor in Unhealthy Forests,"
    www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/cows_and_forests.htm.

[^8]: NPLGC. "Livestock Grazing\'s Contribution to Fire Hazard,"
    www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/cows_and_fire.htm.

[^9]: NPLGC. "Livestock Grazing: Impact on Birds,"
    www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/cows_and_birds.htm.

[^10]: Wuerthner, G. 2002. The Soil's Living Surface: Biological Crusts.
    Pages 199-200 *[in]{.underline}* G. Wuerthner and M. Matteson
    (eds.). [Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the
    American West.]{.smallcaps} Island Press. Covelo, CA.

[^11]: NPLGC. "Livestock and Alien Weeds" (factsheet),
    www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/cows_and_weeds.htm; A. J. Belsky
    and J. L. Gelbard. 2000. Livestock Grazing and Weed Invasions in the
    Arid West (white paper). Oregon Natural Desert Association. Bend, OR
    (available at www.onda.org/library/papers/WeedReport.pdf).

[^12]: Bartlett, E. T., L. A. Torell, N. R. Rimbey, et al. 2002. Valuing
    grazing on public land. J. Range Manage. 55(5): 427 (citing multiple
    references).

[^13]: GAO. 1988. Public rangelands: some riparian areas restored but
    widespread improvement will be slow. RCED-88-105. General Accounting
    Office. Washington, DC: 12.

[^14]: Rogers, P. 1999. Cash cows. San Jose Mercury News (Nov. 7, 1999):
    3S.

[^15]: The net annual direct and indirect cost of the federal grazing
    program is \$140 million, while only about \$8 million is returned
    to the U.S. Treasury from grazing fees. Government Accountability
    Office. 2005. Livestock grazing: federal expenditures and receipts
    vary depending on the agency and the purpose of the fee charged.
    GAO-05-869. Government Accountability Office. Washington, DC.

[^16]: van Kooten, G. C., R. W. Thomsen, T. Hobby. 2006. Resolving range
    conflict in Nevada? Buyouts and other compensation alternatives.
    Rev. Agric. Econ. 28(4): 529.

[^17]: Frye, B. J. 1998. From Barrier to Crossroads: An Administrative
    History of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. Vol. II, chap. 12.
    Cultural Resources Selections. National Park Service, Intermountain
    Region. Denver, CO (available at
    [www.nps.gov/archive/care/resources/admin%20history/adhit.htm]{.underline}).

[^18]: 16 U.S.C. §§ 273b-c.

[^19]: *Id.*

[^20]: 16 U.S.C.A. § 2736 nt., Pub. Law 97-341.

[^21]: Frye (1998); 16 U.S.C. §§ 273b-c.

[^22]: Pub. Law 97-341 (1982).

[^23]: Pub. Law 100-446 (1988).

[^24]: Frye (1998).

[^25]: [Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations
    Bill, 1989]{.smallcaps}. Sen. Rept. 100-410 (100^th^ Cong., 2^nd^
    Sess.) (July 6, 1988): 26 ("The Committee is aware of an agreement
    in 1987 between the National Park Service and the Utah congressional
    delegation which allowed the Park Service to use existing funds to
    purchase, on a willing-seller basis, those grazing permits which the
    Park Service believes are environmentally disruptive to park
    resources. Subsequently, the Committee has learned that grazing
    permit holders in those environmentally sensitive areas have agreed
    to sell their permits and eliminate grazing. \* \* \* The Committee
    supports the compromise between the National Park Service and the
    Utah delegation and believes it constitutes a solution which will
    allow the Park Service to better utilize appropriated funds in the
    future as a result.").

[^26]: Frye (1998).

[^27]: Pub. Law 105-261 § 2907.

[^28]: Nokkentved, N. S. "Air Force compensates Bracket: Agreement worth
    nearly \$1 million." *Times-News* (Twin Falls, ID) (October 6,
    1998); *and* N. S. "Air Force won't say how it calculated
    compensation." *Times-News* (Twin Falls, ID) (October 11, 1998).

[^29]: 16 U.S.C. §
    [460nnn](http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode16/usc_sec_16_00000460-nnn000-notes.html)
    (Pub. Law 106-399). []{.mark}

[^30]: 43 U.S.C. § 315q.