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Public lands livestock grazing got you down? TAKE ACTION: Urge Congress to support the Rural Economic Vitalization Act!
Most Americans are shocked when they find out that ranchers are allowed to graze their private livestock on our public lands – including deep within protected Wilderness areas – for literally pennies on the dollar.
In fact, the federal public lands grazing program is among the most wasteful, environmentally damaging and economically inefficient uses of our public lands, costing U.S. taxpayer a whopping $120 million annually! When you consider additional direct and indirect costs, it’s estimated that the federal public lands grazing program on just national forests and Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-administered lands may costs as much as $500 million to $1 billion annually – all to provide only 3% of all the beef in the country.
One potential solution to this problem a piece of legislation called the Rural Economic Vitalization Act (H.R. 3410). This bill would allow federal grazing permit users to waive their grazing permit back to the U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management in exchange for compensation by a third party. The associated grazing allotments would then be permanently retired from livestock grazing use.
Retiring grazing permits on America's public lands protects Wilderness, eliminates negative impacts to watersheds, native fish, wildlife and plants, and saves tax dollars.
ACT NOW to support the Rural Economic Vitalization Act – a bill that's good for America's public lands and Wilderness areas, native fish and wildlife, and even taxpayer wallets!
Thank you for taking action and asking your members of Congress to support the Rural Economic Vitalization Act!
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