Judge backs challenge to WA grazing accord

[n2doc]

By JUDY VUE
P-I REPORTER

When Steve Herman was a zoology professor at The Evergreen State College, he used to take his students to the Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area, state-owned land near Ellensburg that was meant to preserve native plant life and habitat.

Then he learned about an agreement that Gov. Chris Gregoire had made after her controversial 2004 election.

She and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife issued free grazing permits to ranchers from the Washington Cattlemen's Association on the Whiskey Dick land, a move Herman says was done to reach out to Eastern Washington conservatives.

In a conflict that has gone on since spring 2007, Herman, a self-proclaimed conservationist, and the Western Watersheds Project, an Idaho-based group that aims to protect watersheds and wildlife lands, filed a lawsuit against the Department of Fish and Wildlife in September, claiming that the cattle grazing agreement was illegal and was harmful to the environment.

The conservation advocates said that the agreement was in violation of the State Environmental Policy Act, which requires that state and local agencies thoroughly consider environmental consequences of a proposed plan before denying or approving it.

more:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/399602_lawsuit11.html