Conservation group sues over federal plan to expand cattle grazing on western lands

A federal lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity in an Oregon court challenges a recently approved grazing action plan that would allow cattle on as much as 25 million additional acres of public land in the West. The plan was coordinated through a memorandum of understanding among the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service. The conservation group says the agencies failed to consult the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service as required by the Endangered Species Act.

It warns that the expansion endangers species such as grizzly bears, wolves, sage grouse and spotted owls, and could further degrade streams and riparian zones that support listed birds, frogs and fish. The complaint also highlights illegal killings of predators linked to livestock conflicts and the broader environmental impacts of cattle trampling and methane emissions. Plaintiffs request that the court nullify the grazing plan and compel the agencies to undertake proper habitat consultations.