When They Don’t Get Their Judge
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
It was great to read this news account of the defeat suffered by the Western Watershed folks in a lawsuit heard by a Wyoming-based judge. The efforts by the advocates for removing livestock grazing from federally-managed lands is primarily based on taking exception to management decisions with a fine-tooth comb on whether the process for making decisions has been adhered to. Actual merits of improving natural resource condition is not what they deal with, causing instead more problems for appropriate management actions because of their court pursuits on whether the “t” were appropriately crossed or the “I” got dotted.
It also interesting to see the outcome of their legal arguments when the judge they favor in Idaho isn’t the one who does the deciding on the cases they present. The judge in the Wyoming Case, Judge Brimmer made a very insightful observation when he wrote… “Simply because the WWP may not like the ultimate outcome does not mean that the Forest Service was in violation of the law."
Such a perspective would be a welcomed concept for a certain Idaho judge to consider.
It was great to read this news account of the defeat suffered by the Western Watershed folks in a lawsuit heard by a Wyoming-based judge. The efforts by the advocates for removing livestock grazing from federally-managed lands is primarily based on taking exception to management decisions with a fine-tooth comb on whether the process for making decisions has been adhered to. Actual merits of improving natural resource condition is not what they deal with, causing instead more problems for appropriate management actions because of their court pursuits on whether the “t” were appropriately crossed or the “I” got dotted.
It also interesting to see the outcome of their legal arguments when the judge they favor in Idaho isn’t the one who does the deciding on the cases they present. The judge in the Wyoming Case, Judge Brimmer made a very insightful observation when he wrote… “Simply because the WWP may not like the ultimate outcome does not mean that the Forest Service was in violation of the law."
Such a perspective would be a welcomed concept for a certain Idaho judge to consider.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 9/8/2009 9:12 AM 
Categories: Public Lands
Tags: Public Lands Western Watersheds Livestock Grazing
Categories: Public Lands
Tags: Public Lands Western Watersheds Livestock Grazing
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