Ranchers fear the loss of grazing land, sportsmen fret about fewer fishing and hunting opportunities, and state officials worry they’ll be shoved aside under a controversial wildlife refuge proposal that turns a corner Monday.
With more than 50,000 public comments already received and more to come before the comment period expires at midnight, the Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal for protecting the refuges’ “biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health” has become one of the agency’s most provocative notions even as some of its language remains opaque.
“These proposals by the Service seem to suggest top-down, one size fits all solutions rather than solutions that incorporate local guidance and local management experience,” wrote Carlyle Currier, president of the Colorado Farm Bureau.
Currier cited the example of a rancher whose sheep graze on the wet meadows of the Monte Vista and Alamosa national wildlife refuges. Currier said that if the rancher can no longer rely on the refuges, roughly half of his entire herd of 4,000 sheep would be at risk.
