[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 77 (Thursday, May 22, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S6994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 1111. A bill to provide suitable grazing arrangements on National 
Forest System land to persons that hold a grazing permit adversely 
affected by the standards and guidelines contained in the Record of 
Decision of the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment and pertaining to 
the Willow Flycatcher and the Yosemite Toad; to the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill to 
prevent unnecessary hardship for ranching families in the Sierra Nevada 
Mountains.
  This summer, restrictions imposed for the Yosemite Toad and willow 
flycatcher will force about fifteen to thirty ranchers off the land 
that they have long used for grazing.
  This bill requires the Forest Service to explore all the options 
available to avoid this outcome. For example, the bill makes it easier 
for the Forest Service to offer ranchers suitable alternative grazing 
land.
  Besides alternative grazing arrangements, the Forest Service should 
look at fencing, active management of the cattle, and other options. If 
none of these alternatives are feasible, the bill provides relief for 
the most seriously affected ranchers.
  The bill would allow ranchers to keep using 15 parcels of land during 
this calendar year where Yosemite Toad and willow flycatcher 
restrictions would otherwise make grazing unworkable. For many other 
ranches, where grazing and the species could coexist with some 
adjustments, environmental protections would fully remain in place.
  I urge the Forest Service to quickly devise a long-term strategy to 
promote the coexistence of ranchers and the species. The Forest Service 
should work proactively with the Fish and Wildlife Service to establish 
a conservation plan for the species--with the goal of avoiding the need 
for any listing of it.
  I believe that if the regulatory agencies collect better information 
on the Yosemite Toad and the willow flycatcher, we can find ways to 
protect the species without completely shutting down long-term ranching 
operations. I am committed to expediting these long-term solutions.
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