On Tuesday, January 19th, the Missouri River Stewards (“Stewards”) along with Fergus, Phillips, Blaine and Chouteau Counties filed to intervene to defend the government in several lawsuits filed by environmental groups against the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) regarding the management of the Upper Missouri River Breaks Monument. The BLM issued a Resource Management Plan that the environmental groups oppose.
“Ranchers and other rural settlers have lived within or neighboring the Monument for over 100 years and a large part of the social, economic and cultural base of the four counties surrounding the Monument depends on ranching and agricultural endeavors,” Matt Knox, President of the Stewards, said in his declaration supporting intervention. “Plaintiffs requested relief could have profound negative impacts on the Stewards and our members.”
Knox also said, “Some of our members come from families and generations that have lived in the Monument area for almost one hundred years. Many of our members and their ancestors have had an abiding respect and love for the land that is now within the Monument for more time than the federal government has managed the land.” The Stewards contend that the planning process prescribed by the National Environmental Policy Act should protect them because they are part of local customs, culture, and traditions of the area.
The Stewards intervened to support the BLM even though they disagreed with the BLM many times during the planning process. Knox explained, “The final document is not perfect and the BLM could have done a better job of following the proclamation’s mandate to protect valid existing rights, such as livestock grazing, recreational access, and oil and gas development on existing leases. Yet, we are asking to be allowed into the case to defend the RMP because the restrictions sought by plaintiffs would harm the families that ranch and live within the Monument boundaries.”
Russell Nemetz interviewed Matt Knox about the decision to intervene.
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“The Monument is a checker board of mixed land ownership and nearly one-fourth of the land within the Monument is non-federal land. More specifically, the Monument includes approximately 375,000 acres of federal land, 39,000 acres of state land, and 81,000 acres of private land,” said Hertha Lund, attorney for the Stewards, in the brief supporting intervention. She said that the law supports the allowance of the Stewards and that, “[i]f the Court were to grant an injunction to eliminate grazing on the Monument, the livestock industry, especially the members of the Missouri River Stewards, would be economically devastated.”
“If there is one issue that there is almost total consensus amongst local people, it is the private land issue,” Knox said. “To include 81,000 acres of private land in this designation without landowner consent is a constant source of outrage in our local communities. We feel strongly that there was undue influence given to environmental groups in the process that preceded designation.
Matt Knox also told Russell Nemetz that this all started when President Clinton designated the area as a Monument in the waning hours of his Presidency.
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During the BLM’s planning process, Knox in his comments said that the Stewards told the BLM that “the Monument boundary was established without public involvement, behind closed doors, and in apparent coordination with two special interest groups, namely the Montana Wildlife Federation and the Montana Wilderness Association.”
“It seems that the Montana Wildlife Federation and other litigants will not be happy until I and the other ranchers are gone,” Knox said. “Getting our private land within the Monument doesn’t seem like it is enough. Now, they want to restrict our use of the land and drive us off our family ranches.”
“Plaintiffs’ requested relief could have profound negative impacts on our family ranch,” said Cleo Boyce, who is a member of the Stewards and who is a third generation rancher on his family ranch. Boyce explained that he doubts the BLM would safeguard his and other rancher’s interest in the lawsuit and that is why the Stewards are seeking intervention. He said, “We are very concerned about any settlement discussions occurring without our being at the table.”
The Stewards are seeking to intervene:
- To protect their members’ livelihoods;
- To protect access by historic roads;
- To safeguard private property rights on the 81,000 acres of private land within the Monument boundaries;
- To protect the unique system wherein private, state and BLM lands have been managed in concert;
- To safeguard local customs, culture, traditions and the economic base of the area;
- To safeguard the historic right to boat on the Missouri River; and,
- To protect against fire danger.
The original two cases were filed in the summer of 2009 in federal court in Missoula and have since been moved to the federal court in Great Falls. The government’s answer is due in mid-February. If the Court grants the Stewards’ request to intervene, they would also have to answer the Plaintiffs’ Complaints by mid-February.
The mission of the Missouri River Stewards is to develop and promote land resource management strategies that preserve the integrity of the Upper Missouri River Breaks region by balancing historical, cultural, and economic exigencies with traditional multiple use and economic practices.
Source: Missouri River Stewards-Posted by Russell Nemetz
