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U.S. judge to limit grazing on conservation land
Published Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 01:43 PM
SEATTLE (AP) -- A federal judge says he intends to limit how much private conservation land the Bush administration opens to hay production and cattle grazing, after environmentalists cried foul.

In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that in response to rising grain prices, it would allow farmers and ranchers nationwide to make hay or graze their cattle on 24 million acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers not to plant crops in order to return fields to native vegetation.

The National Wildlife Foundation sued, saying the agency didn't properly consider the enviromental impact of allowing grazing and haying on the conservation land - especially the effect on grassland birds.

U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour temporarily blocked the agency's decision last week. During a hearing Thursday, he extended his temporary restraining order until next week, calling the USDA's cursory environmental review of its decision a "joke."

But the judge also said he appreciates the plight of farmers and ranchers. He said next week he plans to issue an injunction limiting how much of the conservation land can be opened to haying and grazing.

The Nebraska Cattlemen organization is among those fighting the injunction so its members can access the haying and grazing program.

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