BLM withdraws harmful North Fork Malheur grazing plan

In a victory for imperiled sage-grouse and roadless wild landscapes, and in response to several years of legal pressure, BLM has withdrawn all of its grazing, range project and vegetation treatment decisions for a 230,000-acre planning area surrounding the lower North Fork Malheur River.

Under its 2008 grazing plan, BLM would have built more than 130 range projects in an attempt to prop up unchanged numbers of cattle despite the agency's findings of significant violations of its own ecological standards. On top of that, BLM never considered an ONDA citizen wilderness inventory report documenting more than 60,000 acres of wilderness-quality roadless areas in the project area.

ONDA and partner Western Watersheds Project filed suit in 2008 challenging the plan. Following two years of legal pressure, BLM now has withdrawn the ill-conceived plan and agreed to re-inventory for wilderness values and prepare a new environmental analysis.

Aside from allowing a handful of minor spring renovations proceed, ONDA successfully stopped BLM from implementing 119 of 133 range projects that were part of the agency's plan.