WWPBlog

COMMENTS DUE MAY 28th

Attention:

Teresa A. Eturaspe
SEPA/NEPA Coordinator, Regulatory Services Section
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501
SEPAdesk@dfw.wa.gov

The Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area above the Columbia River near Ellensburg has been free of cattle disturbance for over a quarter century. It is a remarkable example of recovering shrubsteppe, with breathtaking spring wildflowers and critical habitats for migratory birds, sage grouse and other rare species.

Public outcry has erupted over efforts by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to impose cattle grazing and trampling disturbance on the fantastic shrubsteppe habitats of the Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area near Vantage. WDFW has now announced it will conduct a State environmental review process (SEPA) on the grazing scheme. WDFW is now attempting to rubberstamp the same scheme – by conducting only the minimal level of SEPA review – instead of preparing the necessary EIS.

Additional Background

Washington’s Governor Chris Gregoire is promoting sacrificing Wildlife lands to private cattle interests - for speculative political gain. With prodding from the Governor, WDFW signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Washington Cattlemen’s Association to allow FREE cattle use of WDFW lands under these “Pilot Projects” – including Asotin-Pintler-Smoothing Iron where taxpayers have spent millions of dollars to promote salmon and steelhead recovery. See just what this Pilot Grazing in action looks like at.

The Whiskey Dick cattle grazing proposal is a related part of the expanded political effort to curry favor with a few cattle ranchers in eastern Washington. WDFW’s excuse for imposing grazing disturbance is, essentially, that they are being held hostage. WDFW claims that unless it gives ranchers what they want, County Commissioners will not support land acquisitions. As a result, critical rare and endangered species habitats are being sacrificed to the cattle industry to buy support.

U.S. taxpayers funded many of these land acquisitions, and continue to contribute large sums to operations of WDFW for salmon/steelhead and other wildlife mitigation. Public funds are being squandered as these lands are used as sacrifice areas to appease cattlemen.

Visit WWP’s Washington Page to view Whiskey Dick Habitat and Wildflowers

Ralph Maughan has a post about the brutalized Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) activist who while attempting to document the Montana Department of Livestock’s hazing of bison was arrested by police and roughed up.

Some Video of the event is below:

Read Ralph Maughan’s post which includes the BFC News Release about the matter and information about DOL’s absurd hazing of buffalo to “protect” non-existent livestock.

The Salt Lake City Weekly has an concise but apt little editorial piece featuring a restaurant server’s opinion about federal land managment -

Way to go Danny ! That’s The Way It Is !

38 prominent wildlife biologists and environmental ethics specialists signed a letter of protest over Bush’s new interpretation of the Endangered Species Act.

Scientists Protest New Reading of ESA
John Flesher
AP

The new interpretations would allow the Darptment of Fish and Wildlife to only protect species in areas where their numbers are low - providing NO protection where they have been eliminated or where their numbers are stable.