Activity Report Explorer

Northern San Juan • Entered by Robyn Cascade on December 28, 2021

Bighorn Sheep Campaign – BLM draft decision

December 1, 2021 – December 30, 2021

Key Issue: Wildlife Protection
Activity Type: Advocacy (rallies, lobbying, meeting decision makers, letters/calls/emails)
Key Partners: Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society (RMBS;) Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA;) Ouray County Commission
Landscape/area: Uncompahgre National Forest (951767 acres)

Measurable Outcomes

Outcome 1: Advocacy actions (42 letters/postcards)

Short Description of Activity

The BLM Gunnison Field Office (GFO) released its draft decision regarding a 10-year domestic sheep grazing permit renewal for two permittees across multiple allotments. The majority of the allotments in the analysis area overlap with Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep range. NSJBB along with coalition partners and the Town of Ridgway (at Broads’ request) protested the draft decision. In collaboration, with BHA and RMBS, we decided to engage in an advocacy campaign to contact Colorado Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper and upper level BLM staff – specifically Colorado Director Jamie Connell and BLM Deputy Director of Policy and Programs Nada Culver – in an effort to elevate the urgency of the situation and hopefully influence BLM decision-makers to base their final decision on best available science and ultimately close at least 3 and hopefully 4 of the allotments in the project area to domestic sheep grazing.

Reflection/Evaluation

NSJBB is quite satisfied to glean letters of support from Ouray County and San Juan County as well as eight individuals and one business owner. National Broads office also submitted a letter to CO Senators. All of this advocacy is outside the NEPA process, however we are pulling out the stops as we are so very concerned about the bighorn population. The science is clear and the BLM acknowledges the science (emphasized by CPW’s comments to the BLM during the NEPA process.) Nevertheless, the Woolgrowers’ Association is a very strong political influencer in the decision-making process. We won’t know likely until the new year what actions, if any, our Senators took and if our campaign was successful. We did learn a hard lesson with regard to San Miguel County when they put the question of signing onto a letter to Senators on their late November agenda on very short notice. I learned the night before the SM County meeting that a staffer who knew nothing about the topic was to present the issue and concern. She was neither informed nor persuasive even though I had sent her some talking points. Nevertheless, SM County declined to sign onto or write a letter. We will return to them in 2022, when Robyn can present the ask. For now, we regret being less than strategic for that first meeting though we had no idea of the Commission’s timing.

Photos/Uploads

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Photo Captions

1. email to Senators and copied to BLM from business owners of Cimarron Coffee and Books
2. letter from Ouray County to BLM
3. letter from Robert & Michelle
4. letter from Judi to Bennet; similar letter went to Hickenlooper