Values clash over grazing in Weminuche Wilderness

Values clash over grazing in Weminuche Wilderness

Values clash over grazing in Weminuche Wilderness
Sheep graze near Lemon Reservoir as rancher and state Rep. J. Paul Brown, R-Ignacio, brings them down from the Weminuche Wilderness area after a summer of feeding in the high country. “We wouldn’t be in business if it weren’t for the leases,” he said Wednesday.
The Forest Service’s management plan for sheep grazing in the Weminuche Wilderness includes allowing the continued use of six active grazing allotments and adjusting boundaries to limit interactions with native bighorn sheep.
The mingling of domestic sheep with bighorn can pose health risks to the native animal as diseases can be easily transmitted.

Values clash over grazing in Weminuche Wilderness

Sheep graze near Lemon Reservoir as rancher and state Rep. J. Paul Brown, R-Ignacio, brings them down from the Weminuche Wilderness area after a summer of feeding in the high country. “We wouldn’t be in business if it weren’t for the leases,” he said Wednesday.
The Forest Service’s management plan for sheep grazing in the Weminuche Wilderness includes allowing the continued use of six active grazing allotments and adjusting boundaries to limit interactions with native bighorn sheep.
The mingling of domestic sheep with bighorn can pose health risks to the native animal as diseases can be easily transmitted.
If you go

The Forest Service will hold a public meeting about livestock grazing in the Weminuche Wilderness at 1 p.m. March 12 at the San Juan Public Lands Center, 15 Burnett Court, Durango.
For more information about the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=37578.

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