so, where do the deer, pronghorn and other assorted critters go?

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USDA allows grazing on Western lands amid drought

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USA: May 23, 2002

 

 

WASHINGTON - Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman yesterday authorized emergency

grazing on environmentally fragile farm land in seven Western states to help

offset lost acreage caused by a simmering drought.

 

 

Cattle ranchers who rely on grazing to fatten their livestock before taking them

to market have been forced to sell off their herds due to the extreme drought

conditions

The USDA authorization will allow farmers to graze land previously set aside for

the Conservation Reserve Program. The federal program pays farmers to idle

environmentally sensitive farm land for 10 years or more.

 

USDA said farmers in eligible counties in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma,

Texas, Utah and Wyoming could immediately participate. The emergency measure is

authorized through Aug. 31 or until drought conditions subside.

 

To be eligible, a county must have suffered at least a 40 percent loss of

moisture and forage for the past four months.

 

Veneman said she announced the emergency relief measures a month earlier than in

previous drought years due to the severity of this year's conditions.

 

The Conservation Reserve Program annual rental payments will be reduced 25

percent to account for the areas grazed, USDA said. At least 25 percent of the

reserve land must be left ungrazed for wildlife.