This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Environmental conflicts these days make headlines, but in many parts of the West, sportsmen, conservation groups, government agencies and landowners are quietly working together to achieve conservation gains.
Not long ago, with the help of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Legacy Program and the state's LeRay McAllister Fund, we placed a conservation easement on our ranch to benefit forest management, wildlife, and help preserve our family's ranching heritage. These are the types of partnerships we need more of, but unfortunately, due to Congress and the Utah Legislature, they are about to become almost extinct.
As part of the federal budget debate, the House of Representatives is proposing drastic, disproportionate cuts to federal programs which ensure land and water protection and help ranching families stay on the land. Under the House proposal, the Land and Water Conservation Fund will be cut by 87 percent, the Forest Legacy Program, which was key to our ranch partnership, by 92 percent. The North American Wetlands Conservation Fund and State Wildlife Grants Program will be eliminated.
By contrast, the proposed overall reduction in the federal discretionary budget is 9.2 percent.
At the state level, the Utah Legislature recently zeroed out the LeRay McAllister Critical Lands Conservation Fund. During these times of much-needed deficit reduction, conservation must participate. But disproportionately targeting already modest conservation programs is irresponsible and fails to address Utah's long term needs.
The intent may be to punish environmentalists, but instead, slashing these programs hurts agriculture, sportsmen and ranchers and farmers throughout the Intermountain West.
People think milk comes from the supermarket and lumber from Home Depot. There is little appreciation for what it takes to survive in farming and ranching, and how much healthy watersheds, forests and soils contribute to our quality of life.
With rising energy costs, urban sprawl and increasing regulation, keeping family farms and ranches intact is an uphill battle. But public/private partnerships fostered through initiatives like the Forest Legacy Program are points of light.
In our case, the funds we received for our conservation easement enabled us to ensure that the ranch would remain intact and not fall to the developer's ax. We have implemented a forest management plan to ensure a healthier forest and can now guarantee continued hunting use for sportsmen while protecting and preserving valuable agricultural land and wildlife habitat.
The Forest Legacy Program provided funding, as did significant matching funds from the McAllister Fund and private conservation groups. Just when more of these types of partnerships are needed, Congress and the Utah Legislature seem to be pushing for less.
Of course, the debate results from government spending run wild and there is no question government has become too large. Budgets must be set at affordable levels, but here is where too many lawmakers fail to see that conservation is based on conservative values and investing in conservation saves taxpayers money in the long run.
In most states, communities invest billions to build water treatment plants and fight lawsuits over endangered species. In Utah, by protecting our watersheds and wetlands at a fraction of the cost, and sponsoring proactive partnerships to keep species off the endangered species list, millions are saved. As land prices rise, it will never cost less to protect our critical rural lands for future generations.
In the coming days, there is still time for the Senate to restore funding which has been lost for the 2011 fiscal year and to support continued conservation funding for 2012 and beyond.
There's a saying in ranching that "if you take good care of the land, the land will take care of you." Now it is time for Congress and the private sector to do this for America's lands and waters, too.
Many decades ago I became a Republican because I felt government was becoming bloated and too intrusive. I knew that individuals could invest their capital better than government and that self-reliance answered most problems. However, I don't believe these conservation programs are limited to a political persuasion — either Republican or Democrat — but are rather the wisest path to a brighter future for all Americans.
Dan Jorgensen owns the Bar J Ranch in south-central Utah. His family has been farming and ranching in Sanpete, Grand and Sevier counties for six generations.