A NOTE TO YOU – Timothy J. Coleman, Executive Director
The northeast Washington region has been blessed with spring rains and beautiful flowers. Despite all the craziness on the national political stage, here, there is much to be thankful for – even though political kabuki theatre and “god radio” would have us believe otherwise, too often conveying a message of fear and damnation.
I saw a sign the other day “Jesus, Please Help!” And, We the People certainly need such visionary leadership, dedication and mental levitation of a real savior. But then I’m sure if the second coming was to transpire, bean-counter thieves, myth-makers and oligarchs at the temple gates would detain and ship them to prison in El Salvador. After all, Jesus had brown skin.
What am I saying!? Redemption has become a spectacle, like those of the waning days of the Roman Empire. Wealth as a sign of divinity – aka, neoliberalism. To better understand what is driving this crazy time its helpful to understand the underlying philosophy behind neo – new – and liberal as defined as British Liberals – the party of conservatives – not as defined as American liberals.
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism ideology and policy model emphasizes the value of free market competition. In particular, neoliberalism is often characterized in terms of its belief in sustained economic growth as the means to achieve human progress, its confidence in free markets as the most-efficient allocation of resources, its emphasis on minimal state intervention in economic and social affairs, and its commitment to the freedom of trade and capital. (Britannica 2025) Though not all scholars agree on the meaning of the term, “neoliberalism” is now generally thought to label the philosophical view that a society’s political and economic institutions should be robustly liberal and capitalist, but supplemented by a constitutionally limited democracy and a modest welfare state. (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2021)
Neoliberalism and Public Lands – For Sale
As we are now all too familiar, all is not well with the current administration. Conservation of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem point of view, this is particularly true when it comes to Public Lands. Republicans who control all three branches of government are showing us their true, neoliberal selves, straight out of Project 2025 manifesto. Gut the ranks of career federal employees, cancel or defund scientific research, attack anything it labels as “liberal bias,’ attack allies, break successful organizations like the U.S. Postal Service, gut the social safety net, steal earned retirement benefit.
As if that wasn’t enough, Republicans are pressing their long-sought goal of selling off Public Lands to the highest bidder.
The U.S. House bill allocated 500,000 acres of Public Land for sale. The Senate bill led by Senator Mike Lee upped the ante to sale at least 2 million acres of National Forest and Bureau of Land Management lands in 11 Western states over the next five years, and further, identifies more than 250 million acres of Public Land across Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. National parks, wilderness areas and national monuments are excluded from potential land sales. However, Senate Parliamentarian ruled Lee’s bill failed reconciliation rule limitation re budget issues. Lee’s latest revision is to include a half percent of the 247 million BLM lands. That’s a lot!
Public Lands are wildly popular with American voters and its sale would never achieve a two-thirds majority vote to pass in the Senate which is why Republicans are attempting a back door sleight of hand to achieve such underhanded objectives.
The Forest Service is increasing timber sales across northeastern and northcentral Washington.
USDA Secretary Rollins announces the Administration ambition to gut the Roadless Conservation Management Plan, aka the Roadless Rule. This rule prohibits the construction of new logging roads in the wild areas of our national forests, protecting more than 58 million acres from unchecked logging, including about 2 million acres in Washington.
Since its enactment in 2001, the timber industry repeatedly tried and failed to overturn the Rule in Federal Court, all the way to the Supreme Court. The large number of supportive comments – said to have been the single largest outpouring of public support for a proposed rule in history – make overturning the rule very difficult. Trump Administration attempts to overturn Roadless Rule will face legal challenges due to its lengthy record and legal precedence.
Sec. Rollins claimed the rule makes it impossible to address wildfire risk but without truth-telling that nearly every inventoried roadless area is located outside the so-called wildland-urban interface where homes and communities are clustered.
Headwaters Economics research says that’s 2% of all Federal Lands. Rollins apparently is ignorant the rule allows non-commercial tree thinning and prescribed fire to reduce flashy “fine fuels,” branches, leaves, grasses – that feed fast-spreading wildfire.
According to George Washington University, Regulatory Studies Center, to modify or overturn an existing regulation an agency would have to go through all the procedures required, just as it did for the Roadless Rule, to issue a new regulation. Rulemaking is governed by the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 that requires a legal record justifying changes, seek public comment on that record and proposed regulatory action. The agency would have to respond to public comment, before it issues a final rule. And of course, litigation would likely follow.
Cheers & Best Wishes!
Tim 
23rd Annual Kettle Range Rendezvous July 11-13
Make plans now to attend the 2025 Kettle Rendezvous camp & hike at Jungle Hill Campground, located one mile north of SR 20 of Albian Hill Road and east of Sherman Pass in the Kettle River Range. This annual celebration is suitable for all ages. Enjoy the company of friends and a chance to meet new ones. Relax, hike a favorite trail or a new one — or just hang out at camp, hike on your own and enjoy good food and the company of outdoor enthusiasts.
RSVP – We always appreciate spur of the moment hikers – BUT – it would be helpful if you would let us know how many in your group are coming. You can register here.
RENDEZVOUS SCHEDULE
Friday, July 11 – Volunteer Project Day
1) Miscellaneous trail tread work, tree and brush clearing. Contact Tim tcoleman@kettlerange.org if you want to help.
2) Best: Arrive and set up your camp & relax Friday evening
Saturday, July 12 – Day Hikes – Please arrive no later than 8:30 AM
Arrive early and set up camp – enjoy a relaxing
morning – get ready for day hikes
GUIDED HIKES OPTIONS*
Most hikes will depart 9 AM from Jungle Hill Campground
**Optional Late hike leaves @ 10 AM – please let us know!
1) Wapaloosie to Jungle Hill Trail: Difficulty 4, 8 miles r/t, gain 2000’
2) Columbia Mountain Loop: Difficulty 3, 8 miles r/t, gain 1360’
3) Sherman Peak Loop Trail: Difficulty 3, 6 miles r/t, gain 1200’
4) Gibraltar Trail: Difficulty 2, 3.2 miles r/t, gain 550’
5) **White Mountain – Difficulty 3, 6.8 miles, gain 1725’
*All guided hikes are contingent on a hike leader and hike co-lead
Saturday Dinner, Potluck, Music around the campfire – Complimentary chili & cornbread. Water provided by KRCG. POTLUCK – please bring something to share – Please bring your cup, utensils, bowl or plate. BYOB: bring your own beverages
Saturday evening Music around the Campfire with Mark Rhodes
Sunday, July 13 – Greet the day with sore muscles and happy stories. Break camp, go for a hike (unguided), a swim and head home. Bon voyage!
Grazing on Public Lands
by Liz Carr, Wildlife Program Director
Overview
Cattle have grazed on public lands in the United States for over 150 years. By the late 1800s, millions of cattle grazed across the federal lands injuring native vegetation, wildlife habitat, soils, and water supplies.
In 1934 the Taylor Grazing Act was passed to manage and address overgrazing and regulate grazing on public lands, but poorly managed grazing continues today. We continue to subsidize the destruction of our wildlands. In 1964, the Wilderness Act was passed which aims to preserve wilderness character, but it includes a specific provision allowing livestock grazing where it was already established before the act’s passage. This means that while the act prioritizes wilderness preservation, it also acknowledges and protects pre-existing grazing rights.
More than 250 million acres of federal public lands in the western United States are used for livestock grazing for cattle and sheep. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the United States Forest Service (USFS) are the two federal agencies with the largest grazing programs. The amount of public land grazed nationwide is well over 225 million acres according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (Figure 1).
These programs exist mostly on the grasslands, deserts, sagebrush steppe, and national forests and are heavily subsidized by taxpayers. Around 62% of BLM lands and 49% of USFS lands are available for lease to private ranchers for livestock grazing for a fee under the federal grazing program.
https://www.taxpayer.net/energy-naturalresources/grazing-on-federal-lands/
Grazing Fees are Far Below Market Rate
Each year in January, the federal government establishes the fee it charges livestock operators to use federal public lands for grazing privileges. The current grazing fee formula was established by the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 and continued by a 1986 executive order issued by President Reagan. The gap between federal grazing fees and private land fees has widened over the years. The federal grazing fee in 2024 was set at the legal minimum of $1.35/AUM, or animal unit month, which is the amount of forage to feed a cow and calf for one month.
Since 2007, the annual federal grazing fee has been set at this same minimum. This program has long been criticized for drastically undervaluing public resources and shortchanging taxpayers.
The federal grazing fee is also considerably lower than fees charged on state-owned public lands. Private grazing land lease rates are significantly higher, sometimes 20 times more (Figure 2).
The federal grazing subsidy is even larger when all costs to the taxpayer are accounted for. Indirect costs for livestock grazing include portions of different federal agencies budgets, such as the USDA Wildlife Services, which expends money to kill thousands of native carnivores each year that may threaten livestock; USFS, which expends part of its budget for listing species as threatened or endangered resulting from harm by livestock grazing; and other federal land management agencies that expend money on wildfire suppression caused by invasive cheat grass that is facilitated by livestock grazing. The full cost of the federal grazing program is long overdue for a complete analysis and corrective action to protect public lands not suitable for grazing needs to take place.
The Answer: Remove Cows from Forests instead of Wildlife
There are numerous ways government actions benefit ranchers and farmers, but one of the most direct is removing wild predators from the public national forests who interfere with livestock. In 2023, the federal agency known as Wildlife Services killed over 375,000 native wild animals in our nation, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. These included tens of thousands of coyotes, hundreds of cougars, and black bears, and 305 gray wolves, a species that remains endangered over much of its range.
Grazing Impacts
Grazing can compact soil, reduce vegetation cover, and increase the risk of soil erosion by wind and water. Grazing can reduce plant biomass, eliminate certain plant species, and prevent seed production, impacting food sources for wildlife. Overgrazing can lead to habitat fragmentation, reducing the overall quality and connectivity of habitats. Livestock can contribute to water pollution through fecal contamination and increased sedimentation in waterways. Grazing can negatively affect wildlife by reducing food availability, trampling nests, altering habitat structure, and potentially transmitting diseases. Overgrazing can worsen climate change by reducing carbon sequestration in the soil and increasing greenhouse gas emissions, according to MIT News. Grazing in riparian areas (areas along streams and rivers) can damage vegetation, destabilize streambanks, and negatively impact aquatic habitats https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8 969921/. Grazing harms native species’ habitats and spreads invasive weeds, requiring costly remediation.
Public attitudes, science, and ethics have evolved since the first Europeans came to America, but federal practices and policies have not kept up with the science and the known impacts that cattle grazing has on our public lands. But given changing understanding of the full ecological impacts of livestock production, combined with changing social values about nature, it is time to pressure Congress to reevaluate the impacts of grazing and the costs. Ecosystems and habitat are at risk. Public lands (national forests) are essential wildlife habitat and support the survival of many species, including those listed under the Endangered Species Act. These lands provide corridors for wildlife movement.
Science Does not Support Livestock for Fire Prevention
The 119th Congress has brought forward several pieces of legislation asserting that livestock grazing should be utilized to reduce wildlife risk and remove invasive species. Unfortunately, this contention is not supported by evidence of research. In fact, grazing spreads and increases highly flammable invasive grasses including cheatgrass. Grazing can make drought conditions worse. An honest discussion about the interactions between grazing, wildfire, and invasive species is long overdue. Thorough and scientifically based environmental analysis is essential to ensure that actions taken in the name of risk reduction do not lead to worsening conditions that encourage fire, degrade wildlife habitat, and harm our public lands.
Colville National Forest
In 2019, the USFS revised its land management plan for the Colville Forest for the first time in more than three decades. Prior to this planning process, cattle grazing allotments covered 66% of the Forest. However, while updating its plan, the Forest Service conducted an analysis that revealed that only 26% of the forest is suitable for cattle grazing. At the same time, the Forest Service acknowledged that historic overgrazing has “degraded range conditions” and has had “negative effects on some important unique habitats such as riparian areas and meadows.”
Despite this information, USFS made no adjustments to grazing policies at either the plan or the allotment management level to prevent overgrazing from continuing to damage the forest.
Kettle Rangers File a Lawsuit
In 2020 Conservation Groups said “Stop” and filed Case 2:20-cv-00324 ECF No. 1 filed 09/10/20 . Other lawsuits by conservationists have continued and recently resulted in USFS having to conduct a new assessment of the impacts of cattle grazing on endangered species in the Colville National Forest. A significant percentage of grazing allotments are failing to meet the most basic standards of land health due to livestock grazing. Both the BLM and the USFS range programs are underfunded and understaffed. Violations of grazing regulations and permit terms go unaddressed by range staff.
“In performing this new assessment, I hope the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will examine the science and fulfill its responsibility to protect endangered species. Grazing in these riparian areas reduces streambank grasses and shrubs to bare rock and dirt, leading to pollution, sedimentation and warming of streams that is potentially lethal to bull trout. The agencies’ decision to reinitiate consultation under the Endangered Species Act is a signal that it understands its vulnerability to litigation. I hope it is also a signal that it understands that it must take corrective action to protect gray wolf, grizzly bear, lynx, trout, and whitebark pine.” Timothy Coleman, Director of Kettle Range Conservation Group.
Northeast Washington’s remote and rugged forests are critical to the continued survival of many rare and imperiled species. KRCG challenges the Forest Service’s failure to reduce grazing after its agency’s determination that only 26% of the Colville National Forest is suitable for cattle grazing. KRCG seeks equitable changes to grazing on public lands, especially concerning its impacts to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, gray wolf, grizzly bear, lynx, trout, and other at-risk wildlife.
By removing livestock from public lands not suited for grazing, the United States could make progress in ecosystem restoration. Removing grazing would allow for the recovery of degraded areas and would promote biodiversity. Removing cattle could reduce conflicts between livestock and wildlife. National forests are critical wildlife habitat. The article “Rewilding the American West” published in the journal Bioscience highlights livestock grazing as the most significant direct threat to biodiversity in the American West, impacting 48% of imperiled species.
More information on the web:
- Rewilding the American West | BioScience | Oxford Academic
- Livestock Grazing on Public Lands Cost Taxpayers $1 Billion Over Past Decade
- Long‐term cattle grazing shifts the ecological state of forest soils
- Wilderness and Grazing: Time to Send the Cows Home
What do you think? The Kettle Range Conservation Group thanks you for your past, and future support. We are both excited and concerned about protecting our wildlands and wildlife. It is imperative that we understand what you, our lifeblood and friends feel is important.
Please take a few minutes and take our Wildlands Priority Survey rating 1-5 what is the most important subject for you, where you want your monies, time and energy spent.
The Kettle Range Conservation group is among the most diverse, successful, and powerful grassroots community groups in the Northwest. For the past nearly half a century Kettle Range has challenged hundreds of projects that threatened ecosystem health and inspired thousands of individuals to speak out for responsible management of their public lands.
Thank you!
What is Wildlife Reform?
by Liz Carr
There is an international movement to change how we manage and interact with wildlife, advocating for more inclusive, ethical, and science-based approaches. This includes shifting away from a focus on consumptive uses like hunting and prioritizing the overall health of ecosystems and the well-being of all wildlife species.
Key aspects of wildlife reform include:
- Shifting away from traditional, often consumptive-focused, wildlife management. This means moving beyond a sole focus on game species and considering the needs and social structures of all wildlife, including those not typically hunted or fished.
- Promoting more democratic and inclusive decision-making. Ensuring that diverse voices, including those of non-hunters, Indigenous communities, and other stakeholders, are heard and considered in wildlife management decisions.
- Emphasizing ethical and compassionate treatment of animals. Recognizing the inherent value of wildlife and promoting nonlethal methods of conflict resolution. Considering the intrinsic value of animals and their right to exist and thrive in their natural habitats, not just their value for human use.
- Prioritizing ecological health and biodiversity. Focusing on the long-term health and resilience of ecosystems and protecting species from extinction.
- Increasing accountability and transparency in wildlife management agencies. Ensuring that agencies are transparent about their actions and decisions, and that they are held accountable for the outcomes of their management practices.
- Encouraging citizen science and public involvement. Empowering individuals to participate in wildlife monitoring and conservation efforts.
The Birds Gave Way
High in the alpines a bomber screeches past at the speed of sound drowning the calls of the jays and setting my teeth on edge.
The blast sounds loud enough to fell a fir tree, alien enough to make a cow elk lose her calf. A lump rises in my gut.
I’d understand if someone’s patriotic ya-ya inspired this display but it’s August, miles from any town, and the ground beneath the feet of every creature here just rumbled, the air that buoys the birds gave way.
Paul Lindholdt
