07/17/08

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.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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