Western Watersheds Case Study

This case implicated a challenge brought by the Western Watersheds Project (“WWP”), in which the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) decided to grant a 10 -year grazing permit to LHS Spilt Rock Ranch, LLC (“Split Rock”), for four federal public land allotments in central Wyoming (“the Split Rock allotments”).1 The 102-page Environmental Assessment was published in 2009. Relying largely on the 2005 Rangeland Health Standards Assessment (RHS), it recognized significant ecological issues on the rangeland. The Environmental Assessment took into account five alternatives to address these issues, however, it merely studied three in detail.2 Two alternatives, discussed as “No Action” and “No Grazing,” were considered succinctly, but excluded without detailed studies.3 The EA did not analyze the No Grazing alternative because the 1987 Lander Resource Management Plan (RMP) had …show more content…
In response, BLM agreed to allow an additional 100 cattle (for a total of 1,200 head) in exchange for Split Rock’s commitment to provide a full-time employee to assist with herding compliance, which would help to even out grazing across the acreage and reduce overgrazing of some at-risk areas, especially riparian areas.8 It issued a final Notice of Decision in October 2009, granting Split Rock a 10-year grazing permit under the terms of the Proposed Decision with these negotiated