Kane and Garfield counties are appealing the federal Bureau of Land Management's decision to transfer grazing rights for 1,200 cattle to the Canyonlands Grazing Corp., which was organized by the Grand Canyon Trust to run its grazing operations on public lands.

Administrative law Judge Jim Heffernan's decision to postpone further deliberations came after attorneys for the two southern Utah counties claimed the corporation is not qualified under government statutes to graze cattle.

"The Canyonlands Grazing Corp. is not engaged in the livestock business, does not intend nor want the land in question for grazing use and is not qualified to hold the grazing preference on the allotment," the attorneys stated in their appeal.

Critics of the BLM's decision fear a ruling in favor of the Grand Canyon Trust would be the death knell of grazing - not only on the monument, but eventually on all public lands. Grazing is an integral element of the area's culture, traditions and economy, Kane County Commissioner Mark Habbeshaw told Heffernan at Wednesday's hearing.

Like others who testified for the appellants at the hearing, Habbeshaw implied that the BLM is illegally conspiring with conservationists to end grazing on the monument by showing favoritism to conservation groups in the transfer of grazing allotments.

In their appeal, attorneys for the appellants noted that the BLM transferred the rights after rancher Brent Robinson signed an agreement in January 2000 to transfer his grazing permits on 25,481 acres to the Grand Canyon Trust. That transfer, they stated, opened the way for the BLM to amend its monument plan to determine if grazing should continue.

In an environmental assessment released in 2001, the BLM proposed an alternative to "permanently close the allotment to grazing."

After taking public comment, the agency revised the document and released a second version in February 2002. In that document, the BLM deferred approving further grazing permits on monument land until an environmental-impact statement, which is still under way, could be completed. Bill Hedden, who runs the Grand Canyon Trust's Moab office and who agreed to pay Robinson $103,000 for the allotment, said Wednesday that the trust has legitimate rights to the permits. He accuses the state, which has paid $100,000 to fund the counties' appeal, of using its machinery to interfere with a legitimate transaction.

Cullen Battle, the attorney for Grand Canyon Trust, said the trust's grazing corporation meets all requirements for using the permits. He says the ranchers and the counties are using public funds to steal the permits.

If the judge rules for the appellants, he added, ranchers who have applied for the permits would not have to pay as Grand Canyon Trust did to transfer the permits.

Because of scheduling conflicts, Heffernan continued the hearing until Sept. 8.

mhavnes@sltrib.com