In Meeting with Top US forest Service Official, Heitkamp Urges Agency to Listen to Concerns of ND Ranchers, Promote Smarter Management of Grasslands

Statement

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp met with U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Interim Chief Vicki Christiansen and called on her agency to collaborate with North Dakota ranchers to maintain fair grazing fees and develop smarter management strategies that strengthen the state's rural economy.

During their meeting, Heitkamp pressed Chief Christiansen on concerns she has heard from ranchers across North Dakota-- including challenges related to proposed grassland fee increases and USFS management of prairie dogs on grazing allotments. Additionally, Heitkamp encouraged Chief Christiansen to review several public road and access issues near federal lands and to work with local leaders when planning prescribed burns.

"North Dakota livestock producers play by the rules when it comes to grazing on federal lands. But too often, the Forest Service doesn't adequately respond to ranchers' management concerns," said Heitkamp. "Our state's ag economy depends on the hard work of ranchers, and I pressed Chief Christiansen to speak directly with these North Dakotans to answer their questions about fire prevention, prairie dogs, and maintaining affordable grazing fees. Particularly as last year's drought and this year's trade war have weakened cattle prices, our ranchers need certainty-- and by building stronger relationships with North Dakota's grazing associations and gathering feedback from rural communities, the agency can accomplish this goal."

Heitkamp has long advocated for the USFS to implement commonsense management policies that benefit both ranchers and the long-term preservation of North Dakota's grasslands. In December 2016, the president signed into law a bipartisan bill Heitkamp introduced with U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD) that requires collaboration between USFS and local officials before initiating a prescribed burn on USFS lands when fire danger is rated as extreme.

And Heitkamp has been pushing back against onerous rules that restrict the productivity of North Dakota ranchers. In the U.S. Senate, she has fought to ease the burden of Electronic Logging Device regulations on livestock haulers, who ranchers depend on to safely get their cattle to market. Heitkamp has worked to make sure new ELD rules make sense for livestock and insect haulers, secured delays in implementation of the rules, and unveiled bipartisan legislation at the Stockmens' Exchange in Dickinson.

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