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Last fall we introduced you to renegade Wyoming public
lands rancher Frank Robbins. We recounted the sweet deal he cut with
Department of Interior officials. The deal: nine years of alleged grazing
violations effectively waived. We also told you about Western Watersheds
Project's lawsuit against the DOI after the settlement with Robbins. And,
well, we let the Casper Star-Tribune in on the story too. Wyoming's
largest daily newspaper put it on the front page. Legal pressure and media exposure: an effective management tool when
agency management tools are conveniently misplaced. In February the Bureau
of Land Management voided its settlement with Robbins. That item made
front-page news too. Last spring, when a group of us were in Washington, D.C., to forward
the voluntary federal grazing permit buyout initiative, several
congressional staffs told us to come back when we had a bill. In October 2003 the Voluntary Grazing Permit Buyout Act and the Arizona
Voluntary Grazing Buyout Act were introduced in the House of
Representatives, and we've been back to Washington since then. Not
coincidentally, the list of co-signers on the bill keeps growing. 2003 was an appalling year for the environment under the Bush
Administration but a very good year for WWP's public voice of opposition
to the Bush-whacking. The Arizona Republic, the country's l3th largest newspaper, endorsed
the federal grazing buyout plan. The Sierra Club's endorsement of the
buyout was carried by several outlets. We wrote the news; the Sierra Club
in D.C. helped circulate it nationally. Several newspapers in Idaho published a flawed but effective, two-part,
Page One profile of WWP executive director Jon Marvel that traveled over
the wire. Our efforts to protect wolves in the Sawtooth National
Recreation Area continued to generate consistent news coverage, and
bighorn sheep in Montana may be the next chapter in charismatic species
protection and public information in 2004. Last year our news was reported by National Public Radio, the Christian
Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Salt Lake Tribune, San Jose Mercury
News, Albuquerque Journal, Arizona Republic, Arizona Daily Star, Las Vegas
Review Journal, Las Vegas Sun, Idaho Statesman,
San Diego Union Tribune, Associated Press, High Country News,
Environmental News Service and other sources. Opinion pieces appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Casper
Star-Tribune and Headwaters News, a website given to daily environmental
news stories throughout the West. Even agriculture industry publications
such as Capital Press, Ag Journal and Western Stockman magazine continued
to pay attention to our efforts.
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