CRP Issue, Original legal claim and settlement

Settlement
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/353646-.pdf
Original legal claim
http://www.nwf.org/nwfwebadmin/binaryVault/FINAL%20COMPLAINT%20w%20JH%20formatting.pdf
Settlement map
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/settlement_agreement_states.pdf
NWF press release on issue
http://www.huntingandfishingjournal.org/archives/issues/CRPPressRelease.pdf


III. TERMS
The Parties have negotiated this Settlement Agreement, and, in consideration of the
mutual promises and undertakings set forth herein, the receipt and suffciency of which are
hereby acknowledged, the Parties agree to the following terms:
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1). Haying and Grazing Limits: Unless and until FSA undertakes and completes one or
more additiot¥al NEP A analyses identified in paragraph 2 below, managed haying and grazing of
lands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program wil be allowed under the terms set forth
below in the nineteen states, or parts of such states, specified below on any new CRP contracts
entered into after the date of this agreement. For this purose, "new contracts" include reenrollment
but shall not include an extension of an existing contract in which managed haying
and grazing has been approved prior to the date this Agreement is signed by all paries.
A) Managed haying and grazing is not allowed in the following states for the
following periods during each calendar year: 1 ) Washington - April 1 to August 1; 2) Oregon-'-
- March 1 to July 15; (3) Idaho --- April 1 to August 1; (4) Montana -- May 15 to August 1; (5)
NorthDakota -- April 15 to August 1; (6) South Dakota -- May 1 to August 1; (7) Nebraska--
May 1 to July 15; (8) Kansas -- April 15 to July 15; (9) Oklahoma -- May 1 to July 1; (10) Texas
-- March 1 to July 1; (11) New Mexico -- March 1 to July 1; (12) Arizona -- April 1 toJuly 1;
(13) Utah -- April 1 to July 15; (14) Wyoming --1Jay 15 to July 15; (15) California - April 1 to
July 1; (16) Colorado --March 15 to July 15; (17) Nevada -- May 1 to July 15; 18) New York-
April 1 to August 1; 19) Wisconsin - May 15 to August 1; 19) Indiana - April 1 to August 1
(hereinafter, referred to as "PNS restrictions")
B) Managed haying will be limited to no more than once every 1 0 years in the
following states: Washington (east of the Cascade Mountain Range), Oregon (east of the
Cascade Mountain Range), Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska,
Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, California, Colorado
and Nevada. Managed haying may be permitted on 50 percent of each field or contiguous
fields, once in five years.
C) Managed grazing will be limited to no more than once every 10 years in the
following states: Washington (east of the Cascade Mountain Range), Oregon (east of the
Cascade Mountain Range), Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona. FSA agrees
to use the Natural Resource Conservation Service's standards in FSA's determination of
Case 2:04-cv-02169-TSZ Document 57 Filed 09/27/2006 Page 4 of 10
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the stocking rates, and further agrees that managed grazing wil not be more than 75
percent of those rates.
D) Managed grazing wil be limited to no more than once every 5 years in
the following states: Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas,
Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming. FSA agrees to use the Natural Resource
Conservation Service's standards in FSA' s determination of the stocking rates, and
furher agrees that managed grazing wil not be more than 75 percent of those rates.
Paragraphs B - D are hereinafter referred to as "haying and grazing frequencies." There
shall be no limit imposed by this settlement agreement on managed haying and grazing outside
the nineteen states, or part of such states, identified above,. Likewise, nothing in this Agreement
shall effect CCC's authority with respect to emergency haying and grazing, including such
emergency haying and grazing done by persons with permission to engage in managed haying
and grazing. FSA will issue CRP Notices within 30 days of the effective date of this agreement
that notify the affected state FSA offices of the terms and conditions set out above. It is
understood that both haying and grazing will be permitted on any far, subject to the limits
identified in paragraphs A-D, above.
2) Optional NEP A Analysis: The scope of any additional NEP A analysis referred to in
paragraph 1 on proposed changes in PNS restrictions or haying and grazing frequencies may be
regional or more local, such as state-wide, county-wide, or multi-state or multi-county. Such
NEP A analysis undertaken pursuant to this Settlement Agreement wil include the impact of
managed haying and grazing on:
A) CRP plant stand vigor and diversity;
B) habitat of the principal grassland bird and other wildlife species;
C) wildlife, water, 'erosion, air quality, and socio-economic factors.
In addition, such analysis will consider a managed haying and grazing alternative
that seeks to optimize the wildlife benefits of that activity, consistent with meeting soil
Case 2:04-cv-02169-TSZ Document 57 Filed 09/27/2006 Page 5 of 10
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conservàtion and water quality objectives of the CRP. FSA agrees to solicit the views of the
u.s. Fish and Wildlife Service arid the Natural Resources Conservation Service on such
alternative.
FSA shall not be bound by the PNS restrictions or haying and grazing frequencies
in Paragraph 1 for a region or a more local area after it completes a NEP A analysis and issues a
decision for the region or more localized area addressing a proposal to change the PNS
restrictions or haying and grazing frequencies.
Case 2:04-cv-02169-TSZ Document 57 Filed 09/27/2006 Page 6 of 10

Landowner Appreciation Wild Game Feed

At Cowboy's Bar
Sat Jan 6, 2007
Mongo's shotgun raffle
& Wild game dishes

Oct Meeting Notice

Next meeting Oct 16th 7:00pm
VFW basement

FALL TURKEY SHOOT

Bottineau County Wildlife Club


Fall TURKEY SHOOT, COOKOUT and Campfire
Monday, Sept 18th, 2006
Turkey shoot 6:00to 7:30, (win a turkey)
Moose, Brats and beans 7:30 -8:00
Meeting 7:30
Campfire untill ??
Club providing the brats/beans
invite a new member,,,
North entrance to Thompson Lake
Follow signs from lake Road

Antlerless deer tags available.

8/23/06 on first come first served basis.

Antelope Deadline

AUGUST 2006 9th: Pronghorn Gun application deadline

Second Deer License applications..

Hunters who have not yet applied, or who want to apply for a second, third or fourth license, have to submit a third lottery ivory-colored application by Aug. 2.

July 06 Mountain loin killed

07-13-2006: news-localSlain mountain lion was a healthy femaleBy RICHARD HINTON Bismarck Tribune
The mountain lion shot and killed recently by a western North Dakota rancher was a healthy, 1½- to 2-year-old female that probably was born in the state.That was the assessment from Dorothy Fecske, furbearer biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, during a Wednesday morning necropsy on the animal at the NDGFD lab.Lions are either re-establishing themselves or have established themselves in North Dakota's Badlands."More than likely, this cat was born in North Dakota," Fecske said.Kelly Hanna, who ranches southeast of Watford City, shot the lion in his yard Sunday morning as it was fighting with his dogs.The lion was not lactating and was too young to have had kittens, Fecske said. "They often don't breed until their third year," she explained.
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The cat weighed 66 pounds and was 73 inches long from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail."They look a lot bigger," Fecske said, after double-checking the cougar's weight on the scale.She and Brent Ternes, a NDGFD wildlife technician, were double-teaming the carcass, taking close-up photos and measuring some of the lion's features before Ternes began skinning the animal. Then Fecske would cut open the lion and examine its organs, collect blood and take tissue samples.Measurements of bite width and shoulder height, among other things, will go into a mountain lion database that NDGFD is compiling."The information will help us identify mountain lions in North Dakota," Fecske said.The bite width is helpful in sorting out the culprit in livestock attacks. Measurements of the bite marks on the animal that was attacked can be compared to bite widths of likely species."Lions have wider bite marks than coyotes," Fecske said.Knowing the shoulder height of a mountain lion is helpful in identifying the critter on videos shot at a distance.Going to where the animal was walking or standing when the video was shot and measuring the height of the vegetation helps establish the height of the animal, Fecske said.The shoulder height of the lion she was examining measured 24 inches.The lion carried moderate fat reserves. "That indicates it was a nutritionally healthy animal," Fecske said.Its stomach was empty, but Fecske did find quills in the lion's intestinal tract, indicating it recently had eaten a porcupine. She also found a patch of blackish fur that neither she nor Ternes immediately could identify.North Dakota law requires that anyone killing a mountain lion turn it over to NDGFD, which decides what to do with it."It's not our policy to give it back if it's taken out of season," said Randy Kreil, NDGFD wildlife division chief.Once the hide is tanned and the skull is cleaned, they will be used as educational tools.With the trapping season ended, Ternes guessed the hide could be tanned and back within five or six weeks.

Officers 2006

Rodney Parrill - President
Paul Pasicznyk - Treasurer
Leland Severson - Secretary