This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Brian Maffly's story ("BLM renews Grand Staircase grazing study," Tribune, Nov. 1) on the new Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument grazing plan process correctly noted that past disagreements have stalled the development of a monument grazing plan for more than 10 years.
A collaborative effort was initiated early in 2013 to help the diverse interests and counties interested in the new grazing plan effort develop consensus recommendations. Unfortunately, those efforts ended before the first full meeting when Garfield and Kane county commissions withdrew.
We believe that collaboration among people representing greatly diverse perspectives is the most effective route to gaining wide agreements on grazing management throughout the West. Representatives of all values and resources that can be affected by livestock grazing in the monument deserve a voice at the table.
Collaborations on grazing management have been effective on national forest lands in Utah for the past seven years. For instance, in 2012 the Collaborative Group for Sustainable Grazing on Southern Utah Forest Lands, which included ranchers, state and county agency representatives, hunters and anglers, university researchers, and conservationists managed to develop a final report and consensus recommendations.
David deRoulhac
Utah Forest associate
Grand Canyon Trust
Moab