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Forest seeks comment on Rifle Creek grazing

Staff Report

The White River National Forest is seeking public comment on whether to continue livestock grazing on all, none or some portion of the Rifle Creek Grazing Allotment.

“We are interested in hearing from the public about continued grazing in this area as we work through the analysis,” Rifle District Ranger Sarah Hankens said in a news release. “Public comment and the analysis process will be very useful as we consider how the adaptive management strategy would allow us to be more responsive to balancing grazing operations with other forest resource management activities.”

The Rifle Creek Grazing Allotment is located in the northern portion of the Rifle Ranger District above Rifle Gap State Park on Forest Service Road 832. The allotment covers approximately 17,000 acres, and current permits authorize approximately 850 cow-calf pairs. The grazing season runs from June to October and permits are reissued every 10 years.



Grazing on National Forest land contributes to the sustainability of permitee’s grazing operations, the local economy and is a source of income for many families in the Rifle community, the press release states.

Based on monitoring findings, livestock grazing management may be adjusted based on the environmental analysis and decision notice.



Specific written comments will be accepted 30 calendar days following publication of the legal notice, or on May 30.

Written comments must be addressed to: Sarah Hankens, Rifle District Ranger, c/o Lydia LaBelle de Rios, 0094 CR 244 Rifle, CO 81650; Fax: (970) 625-2532. Electronic comments must be submitted in a format such as an email message, plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), or Word (.doc) or to llabellederios@fs.fed.us.

Office business hours for submitting hand-delivered comments are: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. People commenting should include: 1) name, address, telephone number and organization represented, if any; 2) title of this project and 3) specific facts and supporting reasons to be considered.

For more information visit the project webpage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=47452

To request additional information regarding this proposal, contact Lydia LaBelle de Rios at 970-625-6859 or Joe Fazzi at 970-625-6847.


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