Hoeven Urges Forest Service Chief to Meet With North Dakota Ranchers to Resolve Disputes Over Grassland Management

Press Release

Senator John Hoeven, in a letter sent yesterday, urged Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell to provide a 30-day extension of formal talks with North Dakota ranchers to resolve differences of opinion regarding management practices on the Little Missouri National Grasslands. In the letter, Senator Hoeven raises concerns over the Forest Service's response to ranchers' objections to a recent draft grazing allotment management plan and urges the Forest Service to hold further meetings with ranchers to more thoroughly address the disputes.

Hoeven also pressed Tidwell to rely on the best science available when developing regulations, citing a recent grassland study being conducted by North Dakota State University (NDSU), and to allow regulatory flexibility to better address specific local conditions. This letter follows a meeting hosted by Hoeven this May in Dickinson with Tidwell and multiple North Dakota grazing associations.

"Our ranching families have worked their land as good stewards for generations, and their knowledge and input are vital to developing an appropriate management plan for our grasslands," said Hoeven. "I am urging Chief Tidwell to hold further meetings to respond to our ranchers' objections, to find remedies to these disputes and to avoid a one-size-fits-all-approach when developing the grassland management plan."

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