I have previously expressed my view that federal lands, and particularly federal parks, should be protected from development. I admit to being an ardent environmentalist and national parks have always been a defining part of my life. The Trump Administration’s environmental policies are, in my view, a disaster for this country. However, the Administration seems to hold a particularly antagonistic position against our national parks, which remain the most popular federal governmental areas with the public. At a time when the public is flooding our parks and we have overcrowding on roads and open spaces, the Trump Administration is expanding development and removing protected lands.
WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project, and the Kettle Range Conservation Group are suing over the impact of grazing operations at the Colville National Forest as an “epicenter of wolf-livestock conflicts” in Washington State. Cattle grazing is allowed in the national forest and dozens of wolves have been killed as a result. Since 2012, 31 wolves have been killed and 26 were allegedly killed on behalf of grazing permittee Diamond M Ranch. DMR is the largest cattle producer in Washington and has been the focus of criticism by environmentalists.
In other parks, wildlife like elks have been fenced off to allow exclusive use of grazing areas and grasslands have been destroyed due to the grazing industry.
My objection is not to this company but the use of federal parks for such private business operations, particularly cattle grazing. Such cattle cause damage to these areas and obviously conflict with the native wolf populations. The subsidy for the industry has been estimated at $100 million after the Trump Administration cut grazing fees despite the fact that it assists a tiny percentage of the industry.
The case is WildEarth Guardians v. U.S. Forest Serv., E.D. Wash., No. 2:20-cv-00223, 6/17/20.