Sheep Industry News February 2022

Environmental groups are using bighorn sheep and a flawed Risk of Contact model to attack grazing allotments on public lands throughout the West.

standing resource and yet another tool in the war chest to help when there is a desperate need." John Helle – a Montana producer who also runs the Duckworth clothing line – can relate to what the Martinez family is going through after a six-year battle over grazing in the Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest. ASI and the Montana Wool Growers Association inter vened in the case early on and the courts ruled on several occasions in favor of sheep producers and their grazing rights in the area. "These cases are overwhelmingly expensive for one family or one operation to battle," Helle said. "But losing these cases has a detrimental effect on the entire industry. Having a source of funds to draw from is super critical when you find yourself in this situation. We have to win these battles." But there's more to it than just the legal expenses. Finding yourself in this situation takes a physical, mental and emotional toll, as well. "It's just disheartening to think that there are people out there who want to ruin your entire livelihood. It costs money and time, and it's hard on the families that are going through it," Helle said. "But they've built a business out of litigation." The Equal Access to Justice Act authorizes a payment of attorney's fees to a prevailing party in an action against the United States absent a showing by the government that its position in the underlying litigation was substantially justified. "Environmental" groups are regularly filing lawsuits against the federal government in an attempt to take advantage of the act. "But we don't get to collect any of that money," Helle said. "There's no way we would have been able to fight this case and win it without

the financial support of ASI and other (state and regional) livestock groups." While the plaintiffs in these cases often have little to no interest in preserving the land, producers such as Helle just want to operate the ranches they've had in the family for multiple generations and be lead ers in their communities. They truly have a vested interest in preserving the land they rely on to feed their flocks each year. "The best part about our case is that we help set some precedents and put some case law out there that will benefit the industry in the future," Helle said. It's a welcome change for an industry that often wasn't on the win ning side in years past. "The favorable outcome for public lands domestic sheep grazing in this case reverses the series of federal court cases that went the other way," wrote Jim Brown, former public affairs director for the Montana Wool Growers in the association's November 2021 membership maga zine. "For example, in 2016, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2014 lower court decision that resulted in a roughly 70 percent reduc tion of domestic sheep grazing in the Payette National Forest located in Idaho. The 'win' in the Montana case will serve as good precedent for other courts to follow when analyzing lawsuits challenging federal lands domestic sheep grazing permits and practices." When you look at it like that, Guard Dog funds spent on today's cases double as a down payment on future litigation. And that makes every contribution even more valuable. View the list of contributors and the opportunity to participate at SheepUSA.org/about-joindonate-donate.

February 2022 • Sheep Industry News • 11