Rosendale Urges Reversal on Grazing & Land Allotment Decision

On Oct. 28, Congressman Matt Rosendale sent a letter demanding that the Montana Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) reverse their position on livestock grazing on land allotments in Montana. The decision ignores 90 years of best range management practices and current federal law.

The letter was sent to Judge Veronica Larvie, Administrative Judge for the Department of Interior’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, and Tracy Stone Manning, Director of the Bureau of Land Management. At the helm at BLM, Ms. Manning has repeatedly succumbed to extremist environmental groups and ignored livestock grazing laws as outlined in the Taylor Grazing Act. Judge Larvie’s decision to deny the petition of stay is an unfortunate rejection of the legitimate interests of Montana ranchers. Allowing bison to graze on allotments that should be leased for cattle grazing is a blow to Montana’s ranching industry and threatens the longstanding relationship between ranchers and public lands management.

“As long as the Taylor Grazing Act and longstanding federal law is neglected, America’s economy will suffer and communities will be denied the voice they deserve on this subject.” The Congressman added, “I urge you to reverse your position immediately.”

The full letter Congressman Rosendale sent can be viewed: https://rosendale.house.gov/uploadedfiles/rep._rosendale_letter_to_blm_oha.pdf.