LAURA SCHEER
As the new stewards of the National Bison Range, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are looking to the future with a vision for continued conservation, bolstering the herd, improving the landscape and telling the story of why the bison and the land they live on is so important to their culture and history.
âOur vision is to continue to keep it as is, and maybe enhance the bison that we see there, as well as managing the other species that are there, predominantly rocky mountain elk,â said Rich Janssen, head of the CSKT Natural Resources Department, this week. He said theyâre also looking to improve nutrition value of the vegetation on the land used for grazing. âWe want to keep them doing what theyâre doing, which is being wild animals.â
Cattle graze in Harney County, Ore., on July 19, 2018. CREDIT: Conrad Wilson/OPB
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BY BRADLEY W. PARKS / OPB
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Tuesday issued a grazing permit and privilege to two Eastern Oregon ranchers whose imprisonment sparked the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016.
With the stroke of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s pen, restoring Dwight and Steven Hammond’s grazing permit is one of the final acts of the outgoing Trump administration. The permit lasts for 10 years.
The Hammonds had their grazing permit revoked after a jury convicted them in 2012 for arson on public lands a decade earlier.
BLM, in Trump s final days, issues disputed grazing permit to Hammonds ktvz.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ktvz.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
President Joe Biden has a lot on his plate but his immediate focus is implementing a COVID-19 plan based on âscience not politics.â
Eventually, heâll turn his attention to the fate of the Bureau of Land Managementâs headquarters. When he does, the same logic should apply. Take politics out of the equation.
Gov. Jared Polis is framing this issue the right way.
âThe Bureau of Land Management belongs in Grand Junction and we are ready to fight like heck to keep it here,â he said in a statement issued Thursday. âWhile we arenât aware of any threat to the office, the previous administration never lived up to their promise of making it a real headquarters. At least the current 40 positions in Grand Junction is a start. Itâs very important that those involved with federal land management are close to the land and resources they manage rather than locked up in an office in Washington DC.â